TAXI AND PHV: BEST PRACTICE
Making it very clear that they are both licensed in the same way, by the same authority, and insured the same way, the ONLY difference between the two is the way in which each receives the bookings, or maybe (but not always) the clientele. The truth is, they both remain nothing more than a licensed private hire vehicle and driver, so why should there be any difference between the window allowances for one but not the other? There is no such thing as an ‘executive private hire licence.’
The only justification we have ever heard is: “we want to see who is in the vehicle late at night”, which is impossible without the interior lights illuminated, which in itself would be an offence under the Road Traffic Act. This renders the so-called justification to be nothing more than an excuse, one which fails to satisfy the ‘reasonably necessary’ test, and since it is based on nothing more than personal opinion and desire, also fails to satisfy the Regulators’ Code 2014.
This failure to satisfy either requirement is further endorsed by the fact that following a Freedom of Informa- tion request sent out to all police forces nationwide, asking the question very clearly: “has any incident that has taken place inside a licensed vehicle ever been deemed to be the result of the vehicle having tinted rear windows, or indeed has the vehicle having tinted windows ever been consid- ered to be a contributing factor?”. The responses received showed that “no, tinted windows have never been seen to be a contributory factor in any sense of the word.”
We disagree with the notion that any policy on darker glass be in any way connected with the installation of a CCTV system. The need for mandatory CCTV is something for local authorities to determine, subject to consultation, on its own merits. Allowing darkened glass should not be used as a ‘bribe’ to make drivers install CCTV where it is otherwise not mandatory.
CCTV
We as a national stakeholder and national representative body do NOT agree with a mandatory requirement for taxis and PHVs to install CCTV. This matter is subject to a wide range of local opinions and variations simply due to the lack of any national standards having been established. Varying opinions range from some who will allow the use of dashcams to record internally - ignoring the Information Commissioner’s Office Best Practice Guidance, codes of conduct, Data Protection Act regulations, and everything else connected to this subject, or a blissful ignorance that any such regulations exist, and what they mean in practical terms, to those who have read the very same regulations and then completely misinterpret them.
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This is quite clear when reading through some of the conditions attached to local authority regulations, which again range from those who will allow external cameras to be included in such systems in order to avoid the additional costs, and of course battery drainage by using two separate devices to actually do the same thing to those who will not; those who will allow the use of a mon- itor as a visible deterrent and for ease of ensuring the system is fully functional including images as captured (no camera failure) and those who will not; those who insist on timed audio, to those who merely insist on “panic switch controlled audio” in accordance with ICO regulations.
Even then we see those who set times to be: “as minimal as possible”, which can range from 1 minute to 5 minutes, and those who insist on a timed button which is hidden away; to those who require fully visible timed buttons, and again, those who want a single button, centrally visible; to those who demand multiple timed buttons for all passen- ger seats. We even see TfL, which actually thinks that a timed button which is set to record for 30 seconds prior to being told to record, and 30 seconds after pressing the button, actually means that the audio is recording at all times, since this is the only way to satisfy this requirement. However, this is actually considered unlawfully intrusive by the ICO.
So yes, we see a need for a national standard, in fact, this national standard approach is urgently needed within our industry.
Whilst we do not agree with such a condition or require- ment being made a mandatory condition of licensing for vehicles or drivers, we do see the urgent need for a mandate being made upon all local authorities to have a standard practice, standard conditions, and clarity on why dashcams are NOT allowed to record internally at all, not even audio. The reason we believe this should be the case, is quite simply that drivers in the main, look to local author- ities to understand and accept that these conditions are a requirement, and not a choice.
The choice is essentially between the installation of a system to a given required standard or no installation at all.
We must remember that there is funding available from various sources, but the criteria that must be met in order to obtain such funding is the purpose that the project is aiming to achieve: the goal is NOT to “subsidise local businesses,” it is to satisfy local authority conditions on the basis of public protection, remembering of course that drivers are also members of the public.
JULY 2022
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