Taxi Driver Online

This is mainly *not* about the trade, but there's obviously a clash of opinions in the Colchester trade about whether drivers should be enquiring as to the reason for a passenger's trip.

Which is obviously in contrast to what police were saying in Belfast the other day.


Covid: Tier 4 visitors to Colchester 'contributing to rising infection rate'

https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/189 ... us-crisis/

CONCERNS have been raised an invasion of Tier 4 residents visiting north Essex has pushed up the coronavirus infection rates.

The number of cases across Colchester and Tendring districts has doubled in the past week.

It comes as Colchester officials have called on residents living in Tier 3 and 4 hotspots to stay away.

Mike Lilley, Colchester Council’s public safety boss, has written to the town’s MP Will Quince to ask if police can be given extra powers to stop outsiders coming in.

Mr Lilley said: “I’ve had people asking me about why people from Tier 4 areas are allowed to come into Colchester to visit.

“Saturday night there were sightings of taxis from Braintree and Chelmsford, dropping people off in the town.

“I have asked the police if they have any plans to stop people on the A12 but they say no, they only have patrols planned in the town and outer areas.

“It’s a no win situation as shops need the business but it could lead to Colchester going into Tier 4 because of the influx of people.

“The police say it’s not in the latest guidelines but it is leaving Colchester open to infection spreading.”

Can you look at reviewing the guidelines and take action against the spread please?”

Government guidelines say residents in Tier 4 areas should not visit areas in Tier 2 like Colchester, however, there is no law in place to stop them.

One taxi driver contacted the Gazette to say drivers were concerned after being told not to question the reasons behind people’s fares.

He said: “I have been told ‘it’s not our problem, as long as they are paying the fare’. Surely that’s wrong?

“A lot of drivers aren’t happy about this.”

But Charlie Isbell, chairman of the Colchester Taxi and Hackney Carriage Association, said it wasn’t down to drivers to police people’s actions.

“Taxi drivers are only doing their job. They are not going to question a person getting into the car,” he said.

Mr Quince said Government guidance was clear residents in Tier 4 areas should not be visiting places like Colchester and said there were other factors contributing to the rising infection rate.

He said: “The reality is if you look at Colchester’s numbers they have increased significantly and that won’t be just because people are coming into the town, it will be because there’s still too much interaction between people living here.

“We need to do more in terms of hands, face, space and sticking to the guidelines.

“The threat of us going into Tier 3 or Tier 4 is real and over the past week our cases have increased by about 100 per cent.

“We need to encourage people to take personal responsibility.

“At the moment the numbers are rising at an alarming rate across Essex.

“I’ve been contacted by lots of people who aren’t going to see their loved ones at Christmas, and I won’t be either, but we have a responsibility to keep the pressure off the NHS.

“The police aren’t going to be setting up a road block on the A12 and they are in a difficult position themselves.

“We are relying on people to do the right thing.”

Bit different from Merseyside Police then, presumably?

(Note that this article was published a week ago, thus at about the same time Merseyside Police were stopping cross-border drivers.)

By the way, this is the official Merseyside Police press statement on the operation a few days ago. Was waiting to see if there's been any more developments about it, but this seems to be about it.

But this maybe confirms my suspicions that despite all the huffing and puffing, maybe drivers weren't actually breaching any specific Covid regulations on cross-border working. I mean, if you read this and the other stuff carefully, it never actually says that drivers were breaching any specific law. Of course, maybe I'm just overanalysing what they're saying here, and that in reality they thought there was a Covid regulation stopping cross-border working.


Successful Weekend Taxi Enforcement Operation

https://www.merseyside.police.uk/news/m ... operation/


Image: Merseyside Police

Our Roads Policing Unit carried out a successful taxi enforcement operation across Merseyside this weekend.

The operation was to deter taxi drivers from travelling into Merseyside from Tier 3 areas and to identify uninsured or defective vehicles for the safety of all road users.

Across the weekend (Friday 18 December and Saturday 19 December), 27 taxi drivers were issued with enforcement action, including defect notices or suspension of licenses.

A total of 170 taxis were inspected by our dedicated Roads Policing Unit, in line with COVID and road safety regulations.

The operation was carried out in partnership with Liverpool City Council and City of Wolverhampton Council Taxi Licensing, the biggest taxi licensing unit in the UK.

Inspector Chris Barnes said: “The threat of Coronavirus is still very real here in Merseyside and we simply cannot let our guard down, or allow any behaviour or travel which heightens the risk of infection within our communities. That’s why officers were out this weekend taking action against taxis travelling in from Tier 3 and other areas.

“As a result of the work of our dedicated Roads Policing Unit, defective and unlicensed vehicles, which can cause huge risks for companies, drivers and their customers were taken off the road this weekend.

“I’d encourage all taxi drivers and operators to regularly check your vehicles, as the vast majority do. Keeping our roads safe for all road users is vital, and we know too well the devastation that serious collisions can and do cause. We will keep on doing all in our power to reduce this impact.”

You can follow our @MerpolTraffic on Twitter for the latest updates on roads policing. Please report any concerns about driving via 999 if a crime is progress, to our social media desk @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Same here

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

Two of the biggest problems we have dealing with the current crisis is the police doing stuff that has got nothing to do with them and people doing stuff that only the police should be dealing with.

If you see a crime being committed report it to the police, if a customer wants to go from A to B take them.

That's all we need to concern ourselves with.

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IDFIMH