Taxi Driver Online

Crackdown?? on illegal passenger pick-ups


Private hire drivers who illegally pick up people at the side of the road will soon have to take an exam to test their Highway Code knowledge.

Private hire drivers are not allowed to pick up people who have not pre-booked them.

If they do, they are technically not insured to drive.

In the past, Northampton Borough Council has taken such drivers to court, but following the closure of a number of magistrates courts across the county it now takes up to a year for cases to be heard.

To tackle the problem, the Guildhall is planning to introduce ‘safety awareness courses’ for first time offenders where they will be taught about the laws relating to cab driving and tested on their road skills.

Members of the borough council’s licensing committee welcomed the move during a meeting this week.

Councillor Terry Wire (Lab, St James) said: “If a young lady flags a private hire driver down on her way home from a nightclub, they’re not insured to drive.

“That’s a very serious offence and we have a responsibility to protect people from such drivers.”

It is planned that the four-hour course would cost £200 to sit. If a driver was caught picking up passengers again within five years, they would be sent to court.

Black cab drivers have said the problem of private hire drivers illegally picking up passengers at the side of the road in Northampton is growing.
Hackney Carriage drivers are allowed to pick up passengers 
who have not pre-booked, but private hire drivers are not.
 The secretary of the Hackney Drivers Association of Northampton, John Hills, said: “Dozens of hire car drivers are making a career out of this. It’s an immense public safety issue and an enormous drain on our income.”

source: http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/ ... -1-4933584

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

I don't know whether to

Or to

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IDFIMH

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

So it could take up to a year to get them to court, if convicted they will have a conviction, so therefore not fit and proper, so why not just remove there badges strait away

Because they can appeal and continue to drive until the appeal is heard in the magistrates court, which can take up to 1 year.

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Grandad,

At last, someone has got it right.

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Grandad,

Because we are not North Korea.

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IDFIMH

Are you sure - they do have the power to immediately suspend - sadly they probably use it for the wrong reasons.

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

I know they can, but the discount kid was suggesting they do.

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IDFIMH

I know skippy is one of the younger members BUT "Kid"

Seriously though this is for first time offenders and if the course is priced at a Punitive level maybe it is not such a bad idea it might well get the message through

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector