Announcing ............. IN THE NEWS
POLICE CRACKDOWN ON DRUNK COLCHESTER REVELLERS
Revellers arriving in Colchester worse for wear after drinking at home will be sent straight home under a new police intitiative. Police want
to get
tough on people get- ting tanked up on cheap booze before hitting the town, known as preloading. Officers will hail a cab for intoxicated pub and club-goers and send them home. Tony Saunders, chair- man of Colchester Hackney Carriage As- sociation, said half the town will be in taxis. He told the Colchester Daily Gazette: “It is a good idea in theory, but I don’t think it will work.” Colchester MP Sir Bob Russell said taxi driv-
ers should not be put under pressure to take the drunks home. He said an easy-to-clean van should be used to cart drunks home. He said: “There is a real danger this per- son may be sick in the back of the taxi which means the vehicle is then off road for sever- al hours and loses income. Times are hard for taxi drivers, without this.” Amanda Halsey, man- ager of the Castle Inn in Colchester’s High Street,
said she
thought a cab home was too lenient for drunks. She said: “Most of the people who we have trouble with haven’t even had a drink in here but have had
cheap drink from supermarkets. “A cab home is too lenient; an on-the-spot fine would be perfect.” A spokesman for the Colchester town polic- ing team said: “We are determined the town centre should be a place for everyone to enjoy. We will continue to rigorously target drunkenness. “The message is very clear - be responsible and if you turn up in town drunk
then
expect to put back in a cab and sent home.” Mmmm. . . .Natural ly there is no mention here at all about con- cern over the safety of those taxi drivers who have to deal with these already inebriat- ed preloaders. - Ed.
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PAGE 32
A dispute over black cabs failing to stop for disabled passengers could see taxi drivers take Coventry City Council to court. Disabled people in the city sparked the row when they complained they were being left in the cold by taxi drivers who refused to pick them up. But cabbies claim larger electric wheelchairs simply do not fit in the black cabs – and say the council is refusing to let them switch some of the city’s taxi fleet to bigger foreign man- ufactured vehicles. According to the Coventry Telegraph, they are warning that legal action could be mounted if they can’t choose their own make of specially adapted vehicle. Wheelchair users have told the Telegraph about the problems they face getting home.
City College student Josh Sapey, 24, who has cerebral palsy, said: “After nights out, we are always left at the side of the road whilst
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DISABLED TAXI DISPUTE COULD SEE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST COVENTRY CITY COUNCIL
able-bodied
people are picked up instead.” Stephanie Holt, 28, who also has cerebral palsy, said: “It hap- pens all the time when I go out in my electric wheelchair. It could be because they can’t be bothered with us.” Cllr Richard Sandy said: “Late-night driv- ing is not an option for wheelchair users and buses don’t run late at night. It has a negative effect on living an independent lifestyle. For those taxis who are allowed to pick up some wheelchair users and don’t, I’d suggest filing a complaint with the council.” Imran Zaman, chair- man of Coventry Taxi Association, said stan- dard LTI-built black
cabs could only take manual wheelchairs or small electric ones – and agreed any driver failing to pick those up should be complained about. But he said larger electric wheel- chairs only fit
in
sideways, which flout- ed health and safety rules. He added: “We have been lobbying the council for these spe- cially adapted vehicles for two years but, because of a law dating back to 1885, taxis must have a 25ft turn- ing circle, meaning specially adapted vehi- cles don’t fit the criteria. “The council has also said they want to pro- tect the black cab as a Coventry-built
icon
employing Coventry people.” A spokesman for Coventry City Council said the issue was due to be considered by Cllr Lindsley Harvard shortly.
PHTM JULY 2012
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