REHUMANISATION (PART 2)
Whilst I was reading through their policy document, looking for a rule expressly forbidding Santa hats, I happened to come upon the following in Appendix G:
Drivers should never:
Become over-friendly in any way with passengers or engage in any form of relationship, infatuation, crush or show favouritism:
https://moderngov.southkesteven.gov.uk/documents /s35112/Hackney%20Carriage%20and%20Private%20H ire%20Licensing%20Policy.pdf
We know from what happened in Rotherham a few years ago that Article 7 European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits retrospective legislation, i.e. being punished for breaking a law that was not in force at the time, seemingly does not apply to taxi/PH drivers. I guess this is because we are not human beings and are presumably some subspecies, contrary to recent statements made by Mr Button. Not every licensing authority regularly attends IoL conferences.
That said, I accept that perhaps some of the drivers whose licences were revoked should not have been licensed in the first place. Our reputation as a whole suffers if individuals with a history of serious sexual misconduct are granted licences.
In February 2002 I picked up three young ladies, whom I’d never met, from a village disco. I was chatting to the third passenger for quite some time after we reached her destination. Four years later we were married and have
remained happily married ever since. In
accordance with their licensing policy, I am clearly not a fit and proper person to hold a driver’s licence in the district of South Kesteven. If the policy can be applied retrospectively, it matters not that, in my case, it was nearly 22 years ago.
I read a few years ago of a driver who dropped off a female passenger late at night. She invited him in, but he declined on the basis that his shift was not over. She then invited him to come at the end of his shift. He came several hours later and she let him in.
Afterwards, she regretted what had happened and made a complaint to the driver’s licensing authority. What had taken place was clearly by mutual consent, but the authority decided that the driver had taken advantage of a vulnerable person (otherwise known as a consenting adult) and revoked his licence.
Unfortunately, the Crown Court judge dismissed his appeal. It would seem that when we become licensed to drive a taxi or private hire vehicle we give up many rights afforded to normal human beings. It seems that being fit and proper really does mean ‘turning the other cheek,’ general sainthood and, of course, chastity.
Being a normal human being is simply not part of the deal. Most of us have had relationships or brief encounters that we have regretted at some point in our lives, but if one of the parties is a taxi or private hire driver, this is not allowed. Whilst passengers should never be subject to unwanted advances by their licensed driver, or be made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe through intrusive questioning or inappropriate remarks, the boy-meets-girl (or other permutations) story can happen in many situations, including in a taxi between driver and passenger, as I can personally attest.
I’ve only done it the once, though, and I have no intention of doing it again. My wedding vows forbid it as much as anything else, and I’m more than content with that.
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