Taxi Driver Online

Revealed: the complaints against Wales taxi drivers

Wales Online!

SHOWING child porn to passengers, urinating in public between jobs and assaulting fares – just some of the shocking complaints made against taxi drivers in Wales over the past three years.

Today Wales on Sunday can reveal logs of thousands of complaints against the people who are supposed to get us home safely but who are sometimes closer to the bad-boy Taxi Driver image of Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle from the cult 1976 film.

Among the most serious cases since 2005, unearthed through a request under the Freedom of Information Act, is that of Christopher Norris, 54, of Pontypool. In March 2008 he was jailed for seven years after admitting 46 offences including indecent assault, gross indecency with a child, making indecent photographs, distributing indecent photographs of a child and possessing indecent photographs of a child.

Torfaen council confirmed Norris had shown indecent images of children to his taxi passengers and had his licence revoked.

And in July this year, Nguong Siau, 57 from Cardiff, was found guilty of assault on a passenger in the Cowbridge Road area of the city. Mr Siau was fined £100 in July 2008 and had his licence revoked.

In another shocking case, a driver in Blaenau Gwent had his licence revoked for twice being caught urinating in a public place between 2005 and 2007.

The figures showed that Cardiff had seen a huge increase in the number of taxi driver prosecutions, rising from 17 in 2006-07 to 53 in the latest financial year, although only four drivers have had their licences revoked since 2006.

The Suzy Lamplugh trust, an organisation that raises awareness of personal safety, urged passengers to be vigilant when using taxis.

Jo Walker, spokeswoman for the trust said: “Always use licensed taxis or minicabs. Unlicensed cabs are illegal, uninsured and potentially very dangerous. You should try to book your car in advance or carry the telephone number of a trusted, licensed company with you at all times.

“Whenever possible try and share the ride with a friend and always sit in the back of the car. If you chat to the driver, be careful not to give out any personal details.

“If you feel worried or threatened by a driver, trust your instincts – ask the driver to stop in a busy area, and get out of the car. If the driver refuses to stop, use a mobile (if you have one) to call the police and alert other drivers and pedestrians by waving or calling out the window.”

A Welsh Local Government Association spokeswoman said all licensed taxi drivers are bound within a set of rules which protect the public’s interests and regulate the taxi trade, and urged anybody experiencing problems with taxis to complain to their local council.

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

I think revocation of your licence for urinating in public is a bit harsh unless you're being a bit of exohibinist about it. If they did that here there'd be a terrible shortage of taxi drivers I'm sure.

To be fair though I'm sure there are lots of things that have happened with taxi drivers that we are not made aware of as with teachers, doctors, bus drivers etc. We can only hope that the precautions we have in place work and obviously sometimes they don't. Although publication of such things will only cause panic in society and one has to be careful what you write about in local papers just for the story or headline etc.

It is sufficient to know that these people are dealt with and that endeavours are continued to prevent unsuitable people have easy access to the children

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

I suppose when the law makers stated a taxi driver could urinate against the rear wheel, they should have been a little more specific

CC

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

It is indicative of the failure of the system that they the "L.As" have implemented.

When you give out badges wily nily what do they expect! the bottom line is that the L.As and Councils should be brought to heel over their failure to protect the public and the reputations of the good drivers that work out there.

We know that the job is not rocket science but people skills and decorum are very necessary,unfortunately because of the lack of respect for the job by the L.As others are now having to pick up the pieces for their failures.

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

One [edited by admin], one idiot, and the next most 'shocking' case is someone having a pee outdoors

A couple of revocations per year in the whole of Wales?

Cabby john, you're almost as sensationalist as the article

I do not think so - these are just the ones that have been caught, unfortunately the trade attracts bad press because the allocation of licenses is treated with disdain from the very people who are supposed to protect the public. I do not know about your area but you have only to look at and talk to some of the guys that work around you, and you know that they are not suited to the job

The vast majority of guys and girls are the salt of the earth and very much my type of person, but because of the lack of care in appointing not just these people but some of the out and out scum then that tar's the rest of us.

Two out of three can consider themselves unlucky, out of the two the one should have been more discreet - the other one - well I guess that we have all been close to that one but the trouble is you cannot even smile at someone burglarising your home without you/I being the one to go down.

I take your point on a statistical view.

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

Cabby John, I thought you might reply in those terms, and I'm inclined to agree with you.

However, apart from a couple of cases there isn't much meat to put on the bones of your argument from the article.