Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver fined while collecting disabled passenger from Dundee support centre

A taxi firm has pled with owners of a private car park to take a “common sense approach” after a driver was fined for collecting a disabled passenger.

A Tay Taxis driver was fined while collecting a passenger in a wheelchair from support service Capability Scotland in Camperdown Street at City Quay, Dundee.

He was fined £170 by Euro Car Parks after spending 29 minutes in the area managed by the firm.

Capability Scotland work with disabled children and adults and has a long-term contract with Tay Taxis for service users to be dropped-off and collected safely.

A 15-minute free waiting period is offered but Tay Taxis director Charlie Duthie said this is not long enough to safely collect disabled passengers.

‘Common sense approach’

Mr Duthie has been pleading with the land owner’s property management company since the fine was received in March, without success.

“A common sense approach has got to be put in place here with this,” he said.

“We have been trying to contest the decision on his [driver’s] behalf with the property management company representing the owner.

“Eventually the driver paid a fine of £170, as there was threats of legal of action, despite our ongoing discussions.

“We have daily runs to Capability Scotland and have done so for a number of years, there is a great relationship there with the charity.

“All the drivers know the various needs of the passenger and it can take varying degrees of time to get people on and off safely.

“We’ve tried to explain this repeatedly to firm representing the owner but they are not prepared to extend the gratis period, despite now knowing the nature of the taxi fares.

“Unfortunately there is no way around it for us, we need to be parked there to get them on and off safely.

“For safety reasons I would urge a reconsideration to the current stance and extend the gratis period.”

Mr Duthie also believes the fine should be reimbursed.

He added: “No one else was even parked there, as it was during lockdown, it was completely empty.

“The owner of the taxi and his family took the decision to pay it given the threats were made of further action.”

Degree of flexibility

Capability Scotland bosses also plan to contact the car park operators, in support of the taxi driver.

“We are disappointed that a taxi driver is the subject of legal action,” a spokesman said.

“To our knowledge, drivers take only the amount of time required to pick up or drop off our customers.

“Given the service they are providing to disabled people who rely on this transport to attend City Quay, we would have hoped for a degree of flexibility from the operators of the car park in such matters.

“We will certainly take this issue up with the operators and with the local authority.”

Euro Car Park did not respond to a request for comment.

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IDFIMH

Then the driver is as thick as pigs sh**.

Unlike down here the owner of the vehicle in Scotland has no duty to name the driver, and it's only the driver that can be taken to the small claims court.

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IDFIMH

So what happens if the tickets are just ignored?

It was the same City Quay area where the woman ignored £24k worth of parking tickets and ended up bankrurpt in 2017.

Different parking company (unless they've changed their name), but presumably potentially a similar process.

So wouldn't be surprised if the likes of that wasn't preying on the driver's mind. But somehow I don't think he'll be doing any more WAV jobs there.

However, unlike the lady below, I'm guessing some sort of compromise will be reached in the current case.


Dundee woman hit with landmark £24k parking charge declared bankrupt

https://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/fp/d ... -bankrupt/

A Dundee woman who was ordered to pay £24,000 in a landmark parking charge court ruling has been declared bankrupt.

Carly Mackie, 28, then of Fintry, parked outside her parents’ City Quay home and ignored the almost-daily parking tickets left on her windscreen.

She wrongly believed she was entitled to park her Mini in front of her family’s garage near their West Victoria Dock Road home and that the tickets were unenforceable.

However, private firm Vehicle Control Services took her to court last year when she racked up an £18,500 bill for ignoring more than 200 penalties.

Now, the Tele can reveal that Ms Mackie has been declared bankrupt with debts totalling £37,546.84.

Documents lodged with the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB) show that she has now left Dundee and moved to Paisley and that she is working as a member of the cabin crew with airline Thomas Cook.

The AIB is the Scottish Government agency responsible for administering the process of personal bankruptcy and corporate insolvency,

Sheriff George Way ordered Ms Mackie to pay the sum after she had “entirely misdirected herself on both the law and the contractual chain in this case”.

He said the pursuers believed she had been engaged in a “personal crusade” to prove the charges were unenforceable.

The sheriff said in his judgment: “She knew perfectly well what the signs displayed and that she was parking in breach of the conditions.

“She stated (effectively a protest position) that parking charges were illegal and unenforceable in Scotland and that she could park where she liked as her father’s guest.

“The defender is not the tenant. The defender’s car was an additional burden on the parking facilities and she was the same as any other interloper.

“She was offered a permit by the factors (at a reasonable charge I think) but she refused on principle.”

Sheriff Way added: “Parking is not only an amenity but a valuable commodity in modern life.”

The Tele attempted to contact Ms Mackie but had not received a response at the time of going to press.

Don't have to ignore them, just write to the company as the keeper of the vehicle, but refuse to name the driver.

I'm guessing the lady concerned admitted being the driver, or the only driver.

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IDFIMH

it is such a shame this goes on surely these parking companies must realise there is merit in being kind as well as good publicity

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

I didn't think that the owner in England had to identify the driver if the parking was in a private car park.

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Grandad,

According to this it's not quite as cut and dried as that, although I'm not sure if the proposed legislation that's mentioned was ever passed:


Maybe the driver's name had been disclosed already, or they decided that the risk wasn't worth it

If they don't then they become liable.

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IDFIMH