Taxi Driver Online

Dudley taxi drivers face big bills in windows row

Taxi drivers in Dudley say they are being forced to shell out hundreds of pounds to replace factory-fitted windows on their vehicles because they do not meet council safety regulations.

At least 40 per cent of light must be able to travel through back windows of Hackney carriages and private hire taxis in order to be granted a licence by Dudley Council but drivers say they are being unfairly treated as new vehicles are increasingly being made with windows that do not meet the standards.

Council bosses have set the 40 per cent limit with safety in mind and as part of its efforts to ensure child sexual exploitation does not take place in the borough. Taxi drivers have come into focus following scandals in places such as Rotherham, with Dudley Council among authorities that has begun training drivers about how to spot the signs of exploitation.

But drivers insist the rules are too severe and that the windows in the taxis can be seen through. Some have already paid to have windows replaced to comply with the standards, while others have resorted to buying older vehicles that come within the limit.

Shaz Saleem, chairman of the Dudley Private Hire and Taxi Association, said: "A growing number of vehicles are coming with a manufactured tint. If they are coming with it, it is within the law and Dudley Council needs to realise it is not above the law. I want to see evidence that this is going to benefit anyone.

"This is affecting a lot of drivers across Dudley. I know one driver who had to spend nearly £1,000 because he had to import windows from Germany because Mercedes didn't do them here."

Melvyn Gill, from Sedgley, who drives for SOS Travel, has been unable to use his 60 reg Ford Mondeo which he paid £9,500 for as it does not meet the standards.

He said: "It is on the drive. I am just driving it for my own use but not as a taxi. I have invested nearly £10,000 in a new car and I want to be able to use it to give passengers an improved ride.

"I don't know where I am going to go from here, it's going to put me out of business. It's unfair and unjust."

Councillor Richard Body, chairman of Dudley Council's taxi committee, said the situation would be reviewed.

"We need to look at this. Windows can't be obscured because there is an issue around child sexual exploitation," he said.

"But if there are cars with tints and they are the basic model and other local authorities are ok with it, we need to look at it.

"I need a report with evidence and I need to speak to my officers before any decisions are made."

source: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2015 ... ndows-row/

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

Go to a main dealer showroom and most of the cars there will have tinted back windows.

Some councils are really really stupid.

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IDFIMH

They can enforce it on new vehicles but not on existing ones.

perhaps it is time for the trade to take issue with manufacturers and insist that they offer vehicles without window tinting as an option

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

Or stop councils acting like prize numpties.

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IDFIMH

Seems to me that a lot of the crap that councils/licensing departments come out with is just about justifying there jobs,
(ie the art of looking busy when they have feck all to do) consequently we have to jump through hoops and spend money we shouldn't have too as it makes them look proactive.

Our LA have a policy on tinted windows it appears very selective one driver they made him change costing him £700+ and not two months later they plated the same model with Tinted windows

But here is the biggest laugh a council owned Iveco Bus has windows in it that are Limo standard and when people complain
They say are well yes that for special needs that are very disabled .

Recently they have relaxed they rule on tinted windows for Private Hire you can have them but the vehicle can not be used on school contracts

so how did he get on in the small claims court then ? win ??

Really?

hadnt noticed myself......much

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

I hate being on the rank behind a cab with dark tinted windows, especially the bigger Renault Trafic type. You can't see through the vehicle to see what's going on, i.e is there a queue of people waiting on the rank ? Is there a queue of cabs ? Is it worth turning my engine off and applying my handbrake or will we be moving forward again soon ( especially as a lot of new drivers don't seem to know where their handbrake is and just sit there on their foot brake blinding the driver behind with their brake lights) I've also noticed numerous times punters in the queue trying to open a cabs door that is already loaded but is stationary in traffic trying to leave the rank.
Most councils ( ours included) have a list of approved Hackney vehicles that have been passed by the council as suitable, if a manufacturer changes the spec, then that vehicle should be appraised again and if the glass is too dark then they should be taken off the approved list. This way it's not costing the drivers anything.