Taxi Driver Online

Our licensing authority has inserted in the license conditions ,policy when a driver reaches 70 years old his has to Take a driving test from there designated examiner and pass or his badge goes in the bucket do any other area,s have this condition
BCB

I can think of one or two drivers around here that need to take a test! But no, I don’t know of any Councils that require this.

I doubt many have such an arbitrary policy, and I have my doubts on its legality.

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IDFIMH

Agree,Acts state you must have held a full license for at least 12 months,this is an unreasonable condition they are trying to impose.

Age discrimination. You can't have a local law that is more restrictive than a national law.

I didn't think it was allowed to place conditions on a hackney badge.

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

we have to have annual medicals once aged 60..........

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Thats to be compliant with group 2 medical standard,HGV or PCV drivers do not have to take a driving test when seventy to retain their license.

Group 2
Group 2 licences must be renewed every 5 years or at age 45 whichever is the earlier until the age of 65 when they are renewed annually without an upper age limit.

Not sure if it sounds particularly arbitrary - even the most basic driving licence has to be renewed at 70 - and every three years thereafter - and of course it's commonplace and accepted that medicals may be required at certain age, as several of the responses here indicate.

OK, that's not the same specifically as an actual driving test, but on the other hand it hardly seems an irrational extension of the principle applied to purely medical matters.

In other words, it's generally accepted that age-based discrimination is OK when applied to driving matters.

Eh? You're surely aware of age based discrimination as regards Group 2 etc?

And I thought that more restrictive local laws was essentially what taxi and private hire licensing was all about?

Eg Group 2 for drivers, twice-yearly testing for vehicles etc.

I'm well aware of the age restrictions on PCV and HGV drivers, having just sent my licence away for its annual renewal now I'm over 65! I've not got a problem with people having to have a medical every five years after 45 if they're driving buses or lorries, or every year after 65. That is national law. It is NOT national law for taxi drivers to have to take a driving test at the age of 70.

PCV and HGV drivers also have to undergo the waste-of-time that is the Driver CPC. That is international law which can be more restrictive than national law (see the current threads on the s19 minibuses). But I digress.

The only driving test I've heard of for the over 65s is after a medical condition, car drivers may have to undergo an assessment to ascertain whether or not they are fit to continue driving. I've taken a couple of old gents to such assessments at a place near Maidstone. Both were advised not to drive again. Both were former professional drivers.

Well indeed - in view of your obvious knowledge on the subject I was being slightly sarcastic.



But it's not national law for taxi drivers to undergo Group 2 medicals, however many LAs have seen fit to require Group 2 standards, and it seems unlikely that a court would strike such a requirement down. (Has such a requirement been challenged anywhere?)

So I don't really see any logical, rational or legal reason why a driving test shouldn't be required at a certain age.

After all, for a while some LAs required drivers to pass the DSA's specific test for taxi drivers (before it was abolished by the DSA) and don't London HC drivers still have to pass some sort of advanced driving test?

So more stringent local requirements regarding driving standards seems perfectly legal and rational, as does age-based discrimination, so the requirement in question doesn't seem particularly irrational.



Again, to a degree that merely underlines that the requirement being discussed doesn't seem too illogical.

Seeing the sub standard driving of a lot of younger drivers(under 70 years of age) in this trade should those with 3 points on their license be required to take a driving test to enable renewal of their license?

Seeing the "standards" of a lot of drivers in both sides of the cab trade I'm surprised many of them managed to pass a driving test and sometimes wonder if some even have a driving licence!