Taxi Driver Online

Clunky English in the opening paragraph here, but pretty obvious what it's all about.

Not much info here, though, and would be interesting to hear the driver's version.

I mean, no doubt the woman did feel 'trapped and distressed', but that tells us absolutely nothing about the precise circumstances


Luton taxi driver who locked woman inside his cab loses court appeal

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/crime ... al-5324249

A taxi driver in Luton has lost an appeal after his licence was stripped for letting a woman out of his car until she paid a higher fare.

Luton Borough Council revoked Mohammad Razak’s hackney cab licence in October 2024 after the lone woman was locked inside his vehicle and was only allowed out after she had paid an “inflated fare”.

He has not been allowed to drive a cab since.

Razak appealed the council’s decision – but, at St Albans Magistrates Court, the District Judge upheld the council’s decision, ruling that “the driver’s actions had left the passenger distressed and trapped”.

They deemed Razak as being “not a fit and proper person to hold a licence”.

Cllr Hazel Simmons, leader of the council, said: “We take the safeguarding of the public extremely seriously and do not tolerate any form of violence, intimidation, or abuse, particularly towards women and girls.

“We are pleased that the decision to revoke the licence was upheld, which reinforces our commitment to ensuring that only safe and responsible drivers are licensed and that people feel safe when using taxis in Luton."

I thought the whole point of fitting hackneys with door lock release mechanisms was to help ensure payment.

I can understand if it was presumably an attempt to overcharge but this judgement is effectively saying you have to allow punters to scarper without paying because it is a safeguarding issue

I am basing this on the somewhat detail meager article

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

It may also depend on the colour of the driver.

it shouldn't do

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

From memory motion locks appeared in the 1980s, mainly for the FX4 'suicide doors'. I had to retrofit a couple with a kit.

What Razak did wasn't really their intended purpose.

Yeah I remember those kits

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

The propshaft ring was the part I hated most.

very sharp as well from memory

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Was the ring in two half-circles or am I imagining that?

There was a U-bracket with a sensor which had to be positioned exactly in line with the ring or it didn't work. Both rear doors had to be stripped down and a gizmo with a locking bar added. There was a control box and a red light for the dash. And you had to run wires between each part.

I just remember it was a dirty, fiddly thing to fit. A lot of swearing.