Taxi Driver Online

cue skippy

TAXI drivers in the Scottish Borders are facing a race against time and a £160 bill to prove they are medically fit to drive.

New rules being introduced by Scottish Borders Council are forcing all taxi drivers to undergo the same medical assessments as those legally required of bus and lorry drivers when they apply for new licences.

The examinations, which are believed to cost at least £160, will follow criteria prescribed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and cover a range of conditions, including diabetes, psychiatric illness, drug and alcohol dependence, cardiac related illnesses and sleep disorders.

The move has been criticised by Galashiels taxi firm owner Graham Gray as both costly and not needed.

He said: “We have to obtain a medical from April 1 when we renew our licences.

“The nearest place we can get this is in Edinburgh and if they need to access our doctor;s records it will likely cost a lot more than the £160.

“The first most of us drivers learned about this medical requirement was last week when we all received letters.”

Last year, the council, in its role as licensing authority, set up a working group to consider updated guidance from the DVLA.

The Swansea-based agency recommended that so-called Grade 2 medical assessments which apply to lorry and bus drivers should by extended by the council as a condition of licensing its 380 taxi and private hire car drivers.

Last year, the council suspended the badge of a taxi driver pending medical evidence from his doctor that he had been assessed to Grade 2 standards.

The unnamed driver lodged an appeal at Selkirk Sheriff Court, claiming there was no legal requirement for such a demand and that the council had no formal policy to that effect.

But the Sheriff determined last June that the council request was not unreasonable and dismissed the driver’s appeal.

However, the judge commented that it was “unfortunate” the council had no published policy of the medical standards required of its licensed drivers.

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

"The Swansea-based agency recommended that so-called Grade 2 medical assessments which apply to lorry and bus drivers should by extended by the council as a condition of licensing its 380 taxi and private hire car drivers."

Utter Krap..it was the Scottish parliament that issued this Guidance"...the DVLA are not in the least bit interested in Taxi and PH medical levels.

The original guidance recommendation came from a UK Parliament department,Councils have the power to be even more stringent on medicals than just asking you to meet group 2 standards.

They have the power to be less stringent also.

Can't see how much more stringent than a D4 medical they could want, anything beyond that and your into the realms of Pilot fitness.

The speed some fly around at they require to pass a pilot fitness medical.

In theory, yes, but suspect any council being more stringent than Group 2 standards would have a hard time if challenged in court.

Has any council adopted rules more stringent than Group 2 and have they been challenged in court?

Has anyone asked the council as to who they suggest do the test, other than the one in Edinburgh?

It makes no sense for the council to initiate a new process without ensuring that new process can be undertaken locally.

What do licensing councillors have to say about it?

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IDFIMH

Dear Graham
I am waiting to hear from the Councillors who were having a meeting today, when they will discuss the medicals required for taxi drivers.
I will be in touch when I know more.
Kind regards
Karen

Karen Coe
Senior Caseworker to Christine Grahame MSP
Constituency Member for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale

Surprised you didn't insist on attending.

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IDFIMH

We didn't get informed there was a meeting

A question regarding this, If a council demands that drivers do this, who pays , them or us,.they are stating us??

As I said in this post in another thread, seems that the council should pay, although at the end of the day licensing fees would presumably rise to cover the costs incurred.

So worth at least asking the council about it, but in the long run you probably wouldn't be any better off even if the council did pay for the tests.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32486&start=15#p378498

(That was in reply to Bloodnock - don't know if he might have enquired about it...)

I've asked the council if they'll pay or even pay 50% towards it, the email wad going to be forwarded to several diffent sections of the council, as yet I've heard nowt....I also asked for more implementation time, It'll be difficult for those folk who's badge expires in April as they were only told about this around the 11th of March!!

These things take time...if you haven't had a concrete reply yet then that probably means there's something in your point, and it'll probably take them a while to deal with it

And if they don't delay implementation then if the early renewal applicants take reasonable steps to comply but don't manage to do so in time then if the council is acting reasonably it will delay consideration of the applications until the applicants have had a reasonable time to comply. As you'll know, as long as the renewals are in before the expiry date then the badge remains valid until the committee makes a final decision, and I think they have six months to finally decide the application.