Taxi Driver Online

Hi guys my first post to this intresting site I would like somone to help on a legal matter if they can.

I and many off my colleges are getting fed up with the number and frequency of Police/trading standard checks.
I'm referring to special squads of police in league with trading standards officers literaly chasing down licenced Taxis going about there business pulling them with and without passengers and on the way to bookings, the number and frequancy is on the rise but we do not have any serious known problems that anyone can find. Yes we do get the odd Taxi not up to standerd but not that many and when they can't find a problem they seem to invent one.
All of the checks are targetted at peak times and can be very time consuming and often result in lost earnings or business.
Is it legal that the police can stop and ask a Taxi driver to stop what he or she is doing and follow them to a check center? Some times a mile or more away without good reason and without regard for the drivers or customers needs and can we refuse and what risks do we run if we do?
One of our drivers was recently stoped from washing his car in front of his home and orderd to drive his Taxi to a check centre a mile and a half away surely this is not legal or reasonable without just cause.

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If it's worth doing do it well.

Yes it seems because the council has a grip on us they can seemingly do that quite legaly. But what I have learned is if you are summond to the council office to answer to complaints of a taxi nature you do not have to go
recall one driver getting pulled on a Saturday night, the enforcement team, police and all the other red tape people told him to proceed to the council testing area for a full inspection, he just drove off carried on working, rung the council taxi department a couple of day later, the monday and said you can inspect my vehicle now in my time when I'm quite and not working

Yes isn't it great getting pulled over being flat out Saturday night loaded with passengers to be told by the police "please stop your meter as this could take some time"

It seems a bit extreme the levels of enforcement you have in your manor, most areas have little or none.

But I bet the level of vehicle quality in your area is very high.

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IDFIMH

I was stoped the first time on a Monday morning at 9.05am by a police officer with a council official in tow.
I would not have minded if I haden't had a annual hackney vehical test on the vehicle the previoust day and a MOT test the day before that the council officer new me well and I have had a clean Taxi record for over 25 years, the reaction sorry we are carring out random tests you are a bit unlucky today.
Now I was on the way to a customer who was relying on me to get him to the airport on time, the resulting delays cost me the job and very nearly cost him his flight he was not best pleased as you can imagine.
If I find myself in this position again they are going to have to arrest me to get me to go! and to hell with the consequences.

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If it's worth doing do it well.

Some of these scenarios seem a bit OTT.

Of course, there are some who swap tyres and what not to get through their test, or borrow a fire extinguisher from someone, so perhaps that's what they're looking for.

And I'm sure there's a lot worse than that goes on.

A bitch for the honest, but sadly we all pay for other people's dishonesty.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Surely this is way out of line by any means.

If you're washing your car then you're entitled to do it without question, unless of course you're using a hose pipe dureing a hose pipe ban.

I've always understood it that the police can only stop a car and order the driver to go somewhere if the car was actually been driven at the time, even if you are sitting in the car, as long as the keys are not in the ignition then it is legally parked up.

May have been better to stand your ground and refuse, there isn't much that can be done as no law was been broken at the time.

I'm not so sure about that, as regards the DD laws at least - if you are drunk and in the car then you could be breathalysed even if you haven't put the keys in the ignition.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk