Taxi Driver Online

I have cut back on my shifts so I cannot verify this.

One of our drivers told me that Licensing and the Police have been having a purge on taxis. On one purge they practically did a mini MOT, with apparently the cars being elevated up on a mobile ramp for them to look under etc etc.

The bottom line being is that he said that if you had a headlight bulb out, then you were off of the road regardless of whether you had a replacement bulb with you

Up until last night I had taken this with a pinch of salt!

My wife and I had a taxi out from a neighbouring borough (because that is where we live) and the driver happened to be a mate! his son a taxi driver was stopped in Cardiff because his headlight was out and given a notice to get it fixed, and was told that he was off of the road although he had a replacement to go in.

I am thinking that if this is true are we being victimised, because every lorry/police car/emergency vehicle/bus/coach and so on should carry the same penalty.............and I cannot see that happening.

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

What did the notice say, precise wording?

If it says 'until repaired' or similar, then I would think that he could replace the bulb and carry on working. The notice is to make it a little more than a verbal warning and can be enforced.

But it does depend upon the wording.

VOSA can do one of two things, usually.

1) They say off the road until they can see the fault is fixed, or,

2) They say off the road until the vehicle has had a full MOT.

Now two is a bummer if it is a bulb, which is why having a spare set in the motor makes a bundle of sense.

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IDFIMH

Nice to see you back Steve.

I am waiting for a bit more info, but I given to understand that it was in this case just a Police only pull over. He was given a notice to present back within 7 days that the job had been done! Having said that you are hardly going to take it to a garage to get a bulb changed

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

Notice to comply within 7 days isn't necessarily a removal from the road. It would be nice if you could get more detail; a scan of the notice itself would help, removed of personal details.

Thanks for the greetings, John. Home recuperating at the moment, although more ops to come. My present wish is to be back on the road before Christmas.

I know (or was told) that Cannock are strict, if an LO sees a bulb out the vehicle is off till its fixed, in a way I agree with it, but it can seem harsh, maybe good practice to carry bulbs?

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

I think that's the point. If you have a spare bulb and change it in front of the occifer, the need to take the vehicle off the road no longer exists.

That is what I thought.

I think the lad panicked and thought that it was an off of the road job.

What happened was this, he was pulled over because one headlight was out. He told them that he had a replacement bulb but the job was a bit awkward and might take a few minutes! They told him that they did not have time to wait and issued him with a Hort.1 vehicle defect form.

The downside is that after doing the job, he then has to take the form to an MOT garage to get the back of the form stamped to say that it is done, and then present all his documents at the local police station.

The reason more than anything that I posted on this is that the police/licensing seem to be having a purge, and I would not mind betting that the cost is coming out of surplus license fees.







Steve I notice that your emoticon is crying or very sad !


Chin up man, at least you are here to see it

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

Cheers John. I'm OK. I struggled to find an appropriate emoticon to illustrate my sorrow at probably having to wait another 6 months before I can work again. The saving grace is that I finished paying for the car the week I went into hospital so my driver is just about covering the fixed costs now. Just looking forward to being able to do more than just climb the stairs so I can go down to the beach with grandson.

Anyway, enough of that. I don't want to hijack your thread!!!

A couple of weeks ago a similar purge was held in my town. all taxis with a bulb out were sent home until the bulb was replaced. Drivers were warned not to pick up passengers until the bulbs were replaced or face a fine and points.

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Grandad,

How does PC Plod know you've been home to replace the faulty bulb?

You could just as well drive round the corner, replace the bulb and carry on working.

Who would know the difference?

It seems to me that PC Plod is mimicing - perhaps aping is more appropriate where PC Plod is concerned - President George Dubya Bush and employing 'Shock and Awe' tactics.

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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