Taxi Driver Online

Another councillor who thinks tinted rear windows or not will make a whole lot lot of difference regarding passenger safety

Ditto most of the comments on the website...


Safety fears as cash-strapped cabbies want tinted windows in back of taxis

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/st ... es-8974469

Taxi drivers want Newcastle Borough Council to change its rules

A council row has broken out over calls for blackout glass in the back windows of taxis. Newcastle Borough Council rules mean taxis must be no more than seven years old and most newer vehicles now have tinted windows in the rear passenger seats.

It leaves cabbies having to replace the tinted windows to comply with their council licence. The situation has led council officers to recommend the use of blackout glass in the back windows.

But one councillor has condemned the idea.

Councillor Gill Williams said: “Our taxi drivers carry vulnerable children around and we’ve all been on here long enough to know that we’ve had cases where things have happened in the back of cars. We’ve got people who carry drugs around in taxis. I will never agree to blacked-out windows in a taxi.”

The current rule means taxi drivers must have windows with 35 per cent transmission of light. But cabbies are struggling to comply with the rule.

It comes as Stoke-on-Trent City Council and City of Wolverhampton Council have taxi drivers operating in Newcastle-under-Lyme and neither of those local authorities has the same rule.

Councillor Joan Whieldon added: “We are requiring our taxi drivers to have a car that is no more than seven years old yet the majority of new cars have tinted windows. We’re almost at odds with the manufacturers' benchmark for tinted windows and that seems a tad unfair or unjust.”

Can't be bothered looking back, but I recall another article on this which covered the same ground, but went on and on and on

The one above is quite short, but why do these people in the comments give the impression that they haven't even read it? Zero comprehension skills? Deliberate misrepresentation? Or just so keen to hear the sound of their own voices that they just splatter down the first thing that comes into their heads?

Maybe Councillor Williams should spend some time reading the Government's Best Practice Guidance.

8.8 Tinted windows
For most cars on the road today, the minimum light transmission for windscreens is 75% and 70% for front side windows. There are no rules for tinting the windows rear of the B-pillar and vehicles are often manufactured with glass in the rear that is darker than the front, especially in luxury, estate and people carrier style vehicles.

There is a significant cost and inconvenience associated with requiring drivers to replace the standard manufacturer or factory specifications for window glass. Some passengers may feel more comfortable in vehicles that do not have very heavily tinted rear windows but there is a lack of evidence to suggest that these are detrimental to public safety. Balancing these factors, the department considers that licensing authorities should not require the removal of windows rear of the B-pillar if they have a minimum light transmission of 30% or above. This should maintain passenger confidence whilst ensuring a wide range of vehicles may be licensed.

The department recognises that a minimum light transmission of 30% for windows rear of the B-pillar might impact on executive hire vehicles, where passengers demand a higher degree of privacy. Some licensing authorities already grant executive hire vehicles plate exemptions, and they could determine that an exemption from the 30% minimum light transmission level for these vehicles is appropriate. Authorities should be assured that those vehicles are not used for ‘normal fares’.

Authorities should carefully consider the views of the public and the trade when considering the acceptance of ‘after-market’ tinting and should be assured that any after-market window tinting does not negatively affect the safety features of the glass it is applied to.

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IDFIMH

I assume these councillors expect factory fitted windows to be replaced with plain glass ones at enormous cost to the drivers.

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