Taxi Driver Online

I would just like to add an actual scenario that happened to a very good friend of mine whilst out working in a Taxi.

His passenger ( An attractive lady ) offered him "alternative methods of payment", I don't think I need to go into the details about the offer but he refused and explained he was happily married and was doing his job to earn cash, although he said thanks for the kind offer but he needed the money the punter said "well in that case I could say you tried to indecently assault me".
His reply was instant ! Well thats no problem he said, as all activities in this vehicle is recorded by the camera you see there ( and pointed the camera out ) the lady passenger paid at once and left the car in shame !

But then again...Without CCTV installed it could of been for the courts to decide ! ( He told me about his fear and said he did not have the camera turned on at the time so the presence of the camera itself was enough to save his skin ).

They are a must in our modern day world.

Steve

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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

Yes you could without any major problem.
BUT...It is easier to have a "TAKE / CAPTURE BUTTON" near you somewhere and simply take a snapshot when passengers get in.

I believe there is cabs in the UK that actually takes snapshots of boarding passengers and shows the footage on a screen in the vehicle.

I strongly believe this can only be categorised as passenger and driver safety.

Steve

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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

I have been to Maplins to view this DVR recorder.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Tab ... 4&doy=9m10
Well I thought the hard disk drive would of slid in and out on a removable draw but the thing on the front is only an air vent so to view or delete footage you have to physically remove the whole unit and take it indoors.
To remove the hard disk drive you have to take the whole unit apart.
This will be a bit of a pain in the ass because Ideally the recording device is best fixed solid hidden in the car.
Also it looks little in the pictures but I will not go under a zafira seat.
Well it was worth a look.

Steve

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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

I think we need to explore one or two different setups for the discerning cab driver.

One would be convenience and in that respect two things spring to mind. One is a removable hard drive that fits into a caddy 3.5 inch. The hard drive or perhaps the whole unit could be removed from the vehicle when not in use which would prevent theft. Or a system using a flash card that can also be removed, therefore one of the overriding factors in my opinion would be that the ideal system would be removable in order to prevent theft.

The portability aspect would obviously depend on the preferred data capacity whether that be a 3.5 inch hard drive or a system using a flash card or perhaps a usb or similar, storage device?

Quality and price is of course an issue but I think if we have any manufacturers reading TDO then they should have some indication of what we require. The ideal system as far as I'm concerned would consist of several cameras perhaps up to four and be small and portable.

I don't know what others think but for any manufacturer who has equipment that can adapt to our needs then there is a ready made market in the Taxi and private hire trade numbering some 170 thousand vehicles, for a decent portable CCTV product.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

This is a great thread, thanks guys.

I'm currently considering whether to approach my licensing authority about CCTV.

Why consider approaching your licensing authority to ask permission ?
Honest I would love an authority to say NO you can't.

GA said it right by this quote below and I for one KNOWS HE IS RIGHT....



It is your right as a citizen to protect your property by any lawful means !
HONEST but like JD said

If you are going to ask please please tell us if they say you can't fit in car CCTV.
Regards Steve

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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

Problem here (I think) is that it's against the terms and conditions of your license to fit ANY equipment to the vehicle without prior permission from the cab inspector. That might be an unreasonable condition in this case.

I'm not sure if anyone has CCTV here (Edinburgh) fitted yet, but I'm beginning to relish the challenge.

I totally agree with your sentiments BTW.

Well nick you are quite right and we have the same condition in England and Wales although some people choose to ignore that fact when advising others how to go about getting council approval to install CCTV.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Ok I do understand that nick, this is true but I do not choose to ignore that fact when advising others how to go about getting council approval to install CCTV ..
...I am trying to say ( In layman terms ) where is it written in law that we can not protect our own property by use of CCTV ? as long as we advertise the fact !
Meaning if we give passengers the choice to read the notices on entry in a vehicle it then will give the passengers a choice to say "I would prefer not to be transported in that vehicle because CCTV is installed" .......
I have never came across this scenario EVER.....and I have had CCTV installed for over a year now.
So why does certain councils have the right to refuse us to install a item that can protect passenger and driver safety that is legal everywhere else in society. ( Is it then the case we should question most shops we walk in and most streets we walk along ? ) IT IS THE SAME THING..All this relates to the question "is it in the publics best interest ?"
So then I ask you ...What makes a public transport vehicle ( A TAXI ) any different ? Also We are basically on the same public transport level as any Bus ! They all have CCTV to protect Driver, Passenger and also liability scams from other road users.....( Come on this is bollocks ! )
Should we now ask them permission to remove our Radio cassette players and install a CD player ?
This would surely be in the same category ????


By the way I bought one of these today...It is small enough to fit under my seat and has the removable caddy / HDD....Bargain from Ebay 54 quid.


Regards Steve

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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

Ask your council if they have CCTV in their offices?

If they have, and most do, then ask them why they have it?

If they say it's to protect their staff, and to deter and detect crime, then ask them why taxis, and their drivers, shouldn't have the same opportunities to protect themselves, and deter and detect crime.

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IDFIMH

Your a right twait.... in a few word you said what I meant....BUt I spouted lots of poop... .
But I did mean the same.............
Talling about diggin a hole...I am oviously a fekkin connoisseur

Cheers bud...Steve

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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

Thats pretty much exactly how I imagine the argument going.

The wheels at Edinburgh council turn quite slowly (and some would say are buckled) but my feeling is that this would not be too hard to force them to accept.

It is your right as a citizen to protect yourself and your property.

I would always suggest that you INFORM the council that you are installing CCTV to YOUR vehicle and list the relevant components ................. but I don't think, well actually I know for a fact that they cannot stop you.

There was some discussion up here about a CCTV system which would have required permission from the council ................. this is the one where advertising could be sold, t be viewed on a LCD screen, t pay for the system .................... but as "taxis" has told you, these systems are inexpensive and easy to install.

B. Lucky

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"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

You may not be aware but you need council permission to install CCTV inside your cab. I thought everyone new that?

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

JD I have the utmost Honor for you and your work here....
But please explain how the councils can have this rule

When in our normal / general way of life this is our right anyways...
Please tell me how the council has the right to alter this way of right and make there own rules as they go .....when we as drivers installing CCTV in our cars are abiding 100% within the law and government guidelines as
British citizens ?????????????????
This leaves me puzzled......please explain in simple terms as really need to be clear on this fact.
Steve

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The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.