Taxi Driver Online

Interesting case from Dundee reported in today's Courier. It's not on the web so the stuff below is just the main bits. Not sure if the fact that Dundee has a saloon/WAV mix is relevant, but if not then this case must have implications for elsewhere in Scotland??



Dundee City Council has been told by a sheriff that it cannot compel a taxi driver to operated a WAV as a condition of his licensce.

Mr Coutie applied to the council late in 2006 for a taxi licnence, aware a policy was in place requiring the use of certain WAV vehicles by all new licence holders.

He sought exemption based on a back injury sustained while in the forces, and submitted a letter from his doctor stating medical difficulties would make it difficult for him to assist wheelchair-bound passengers.

The council refused to vary its policy and grated a licence with the standard condition.

A sheriff told the council to reconsider but, despite that judgement and a further submission about the applicant's physical limitations, the same conclusion was reached.

The sheriff said: "The bottom line is that no reasonable licensing authority properly considering the special circumstances of an application such as the pursuer's could have come to the conclusion that his was not a special case in which a departure from their policy would be appropriate."

He said it was no justification to insist on compliance with their policy in case it might be an attempt to get round the policy with the employment in due course of an able-bodied driver.

The sherrif determined that it was not appropriate to remit back to the council for further consideration, and ordered the authority to grant Mr Coutie the licence unconditionally.

The full judgement is here:

http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/B876.html

interesting stuff,i can feel my bad back playing up already,i sometimes think im the only wav in dundee thats still able to do wheelchairs,i got a job at asda last week ,i went to asda but couldn,t get on the rank space because there was 3 wavs(all injured in one way or another)sitting there

This should help the Renfrew case as well, as the judgment says no council in Scotland can impose an all wav condition until the secretary of state says so and they must adhere to the 1982 act.

As the judgment has now been made how many Dundee owners will challenge the council unlawful condition and all those in Aberdeen

When you think about it the judgement is common sense.

If the chap is not in a fit state to drive and run a WAV, but is a saloon, then really he should be allowed to license what his back can cope with.

Only a dumb ar** council would insist otherwise.

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IDFIMH

Of course the safety of the driver never gets taken into consideration, is it safer for the driver to drive a WAV with a screen protecting him from the passengers OR is it safer to drive a saloon A bit of a no brainer really, if he has got a bad back he still deserves to be able to work if he wants to, or do they want to pay him to be on the dole/invalidity.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

This judgment will also apply to the whole of the UK as the sheriff stated that the council must only work to the 1982 act until the secretary of state makes changes, and as your 1976 act (or whatever it is now) is almost word for word in its description of what a vehicle must be, as ours, some of the councils that have imposed wav only rules, and colours could be now fecked

Its the same in our office,if they can,t do wheelchair work then they shouldnt get the 5,6 and 7 people jobs either....

So hopefully he will be fit enough to carry bags of groceries into the car or lift those heavy suitcases into the boot.

Now this IS indeed interesting.

It would appear that the Sheriff is saying that a council may have a policy but that policy must be taken account of with what is reasonable.

In our cases the council applied the policy without any pretence at being reasonable. They ignored what was presented to them and didn't consider it at all. This Sheriff seems to suggest they should have.

I'm off to get the judgement.

Many thanks.

But why should we be penalizing our fellow drivers just because they aren't as fit and well as us?

Would we say a driver that can't lift heavy suitcases into a saloon, can't do work that doesn't involve lifting heavy suitcases?

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IDFIMH

The terms and conditions of your badge say that you have to help your passengers with luggage,shopping etc...So if a driver gets sent for a job and cant manage with his fare to get luggage into a car what happens then,does he just go away and make the fare wait for another car.SO IF HE CANT MANAGE A WHEELCHAIR WILL HE BE ABLE TO LIFT A SUITCASE,is what i am saying..

It will only make life much harder if the office controllers have to think,what car will i send,who is driving the car,can he lift heavy loads etc,when giving out jobs.

It is already happening as said with half the wav drivers with "bad backs".
These drivers i mentioned are fit and well with better golf handicaps than me.

Obviously there will be some guys who genuinly cant do the lifting but how many people are going to abuse this decision.

Surely for an efficient service the vast majority of drivers must be fit for the job.

I did not know they had a crazy golf course in Dundee

I'm saying drivers deserve to be treated fairly, and if a firm has to take into account an elderly driver, then so be it.

If they also have to take into account a driver with a bad back, then so be it.

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IDFIMH

A "regulated taxi" will be a taxi to which the regulations apply and it is not evident to me that the regulations will apply to all taxis, though the only stated exemption is for horse drawn taxis, a form of transport which is unlikely to find much favour in Dundee.

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IDFIMH