Taxi Driver Online

Hemel Gazette

March 27, 2008

'Scouse Kev' cabbie nickname banned

A CABBIE in Hemel Hempstead has been banned from writing his nickname on the side of his taxi in case people find it offensive.

Liverpool-born Kevin Reardon, known by clients and fellow cabbies as Scouse Kev, was denied permission to use door signs bearing the slogan: Scouse Kev's Taxi; You Drink, I Drive.

Dacorum Borough Council feared the slang term 'scouse' could be considered derogatory and deemed the reference to alcohol inappropriate.

Members of the council's licensing committee refused to let Mr Reardon use the term when they met last week.

Mr Reardon has driven taxis for more than a decade and been based in the Hemel area for half of that time.

He told the committee it was difficult for customers to distinguish which cab they had booked without an obvious sign on the door.

He said: "All the other cabbies call me Scouse Kev, it's already on all my business cards. To me, it's my nickname not a slang term.

"And the reference to drinking is supposed to be responsible. It's meant to make people think about not drinking and driving."

Committee chairman, Cllr Allan Lawson, said of the wording: "There would be lots of people who may wonder about the implications of it."

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Very strange that he can't use the "you drink, I drive" slogan. I thought that most councils were in favour of this.

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Grandad,