20 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
JANUARY 2009 YORK:
Private hire vehicle drivers have continued to flout the smoking ban by lighting up in the cars they use for work, City of York Council has revealed. A report by council officers says that since July 1 the authority has issued four £50 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to as many private hire driv- ers for smoking in their vehicles.
During the period July 1 2007 - when the leg- islation outlawing lighting up in public places was introduced
ROUND THE BLACKPOOL:
BAN ON SMOKING FLOUTED
- to June 30, the coun- cil handed out seven £50 fines to private hire drivers for smok- ing tobacco inside the vehicles they used for work.
Barry Hamer, chairman of York Private Hire Association, said that he was disappointed that drivers continued to flout the law. “This is the law,” he told the York Evening Press. “It’s not that we are asking people not to smoke - it’s the law that they can’t do it. “It isn’t a matter of where you work - they
PENDLE: CABBIES’ FURY AT MEDICAL CHARGES
Taxi drivers in Pendle have expressed out- rage after being asked to fork out up to £300 for medicals which could keep them on the road.
Licensing bosses at Nelson Town Hall are keen to adopt stricter medical checks as rec- ommended by Whitehall transport officials.
Under the planned sys- tem, promoted by the DVLA in best practice guidelines, cabbies would have to adhere to the same medical regime as hauliers and bus drivers.
And concern has been expressed as the more stringent guidelines would ban insulin treated diabetics from working as a taxi driv- er.
The condition is espe- cially prevalent among South Asian men in East Lancashire, who form a significant pro- portion of Nelson’s cabbies.
Mohammed Akram, chairman of Pendle Pri- vate Hire Association, called for the issue to be deferred for at least a year until the effects of the current economic slump die down. He told the Lancashire Evening Post: “I have seen people with triple heart bypasses who have been driving taxis
in other boroughs. There is nothing wrong with the system we have in place. There is no one in the trade who is not fit and proper to drive a taxi. The cost of this medical is signifi- cant.” Fellow taxi boss Mohammed Saeed said; “I have been to some doctors who are charging nearly £300 for this medical. If some of the drivers are mak- ing £120 a week then how are they going to pay this fee?” Councilor Mohammed Iqbal told the bor- ough’s taxi licensing committee: “There is a significant cost here for taxi drivers and we have been told that the fee could range from £150 to £300. But there is no record of accidents involving taxi drivers, because of medical failures. If it isn’t broke then why fix it?”
Councillor David Clegg said he was worried about the prospect of a collision, caused by a medical problem, if the new medicals were not adopted.
He added: “It would land back at this com- mittee if there was an accident because of health reasons, and someone was killed, then a court could make a ruling that we
should have adopted the DVLA recommen- dations.”
The taxi committee voted to approve the tougher medicals but the final decision will rest with Pendle Council’s executive on the policy change.
Mmmm...they shouldn’t shoot the messenger! The ‘new’ medical crite- ria, and the additional examinations that uphold those criteria were not derived by the council; we recommend that the trade in the Pendle area should read the annex to the DfT’s Best Practice guidance document published in November 2006. Far from these criteria being more stringent, the fact that insulin injecting diabetic drivers can now hold a C1 licence and drive taxis and PHVs is dis-barring diabetic drivers for the first time ever. It’s been adopted by the PCO, which licenses over 70,000 drivers, and numerous other councils as well.
It does mean that these candidates have to jump through a few more hoops (and pay for the privilege) than ordinary licence holders or non- injecting diabetics, but at least it means they can now continue to drive! - Ed.
have to realise the vehi- cle is a working office. “I just don’t under- stand why they want to carry on ignoring it, knowing that the trade is hard, I can’t under- stand why they want to pay a fine when they work so hard for the money. “It’s hard work out here now - it’s harder to work than when I first started. Why do they want to do that?” He said that drivers who continued to flout the law could only expect the penalties that they were given.
DOUZENS OF CABBIES FLOUT SMOKING BAN
Blackpool cabbies have been warned that they risk losing their licences and paying up to £300 in penalties if they light up in their vehicles.
The Blackpool Gazette can reveal that since April more than 50 driv- ers have been fined on the spot after being caught smoking in their taxis.
Those who have not paid the £50 fixed penal- ty notice (reduced to £30 if paid within 15 days), or who are persistent offenders, have been taken to court.
There have been 12 prosecutions since April. The last driver to appear before magis- trates was fined £150 with £150 costs.
Because the cabs are deemed to be a place of work, drivers are banned from smoking even between pick-ups. One cabbie, who was caught out twice in six days, has been hauled before Blackpool Coun- cil’s public protection sub-committee and given a severe warning. Chairman of Licensing, Cllr Henry Mitchell, told the Gazette: “Under the
Health Act, a taxi is considered to be a place of work just as a pub or a restaurant is. “So the ban is applica- ble and even if a driver does not have any pas- sengers in the back, he or she cannot smoke. “They can’t even just wind the window down - they must leave the vehicle. The council has issued more than 50 fixed penalty notices since April this year because of this which is far too many. We need to send out a message that smoking will not be tolerated.”
PCO/ HARLOW: DRUG TESTS FOR CABBIES
Minicab drivers could soon be subject to ran- dom alcohol and drug tests as part of a con- troversial plan by Harlow Council.
The licensing commit- tee has agreed to send proposals, for ratifica- tion, making it a legal requirement for private hire drivers to undergo testing.
If agreed, the move would see minicab driv- ers told to attend the town’s occupational health service using test strips and urine samples which indicate the presence of certain drugs.
Alcohol testing would see the council’s safety and licensing staff breathalyse drivers.
The Harlow Star reports that some mini- cab drivers are said to be upset at the propos- als, which have come about despite no evi- dence to suggest any wrongdoing.
It is understood plans are in the pipeline to make hackney carriage cab drivers subject to the tests also.
DARLINGTON: WELCOME FOR TAXI LICENCE RULING
Taxi drivers in Darling- ton have welcomed a High Court decision which could prevent cabs licensed in other areas operating in the town.
In November, the High Court announced that local authorities must consider the intended use of the vehicles when issuing a hack- ney carriage licence. The announcement means taxi drivers will no longer be able to get licences issued in Berwick-upon-Tweed, where they are much cheaper than else- where, and then operate in Darlington. This trend annoyed many Darlington-based cabbies, who have complained that there are too many taxis operating in the town.
At one point, it was believed that as many as five Berwick-regis- tered taxis began working in Darlington each week. Taxi drivers in Sedge- field have also complained as Berwick-licensed taxis were working in the dis- trict without taking a Driving Standards Agency test, which Sedgefield Borough Council insists upon drivers sitting when it issues licences.
The case was brought by Newcastle City Council.
Darlington Borough Council wrote a letter of support for Newcastle’s case.
Berwick Borough Council has maintained that in the past its hands have been tied
and it has had no choice but to issue the licences.
Darlington taxi driver George Jenkinson said: “I welcome this - it’s a good step. How- ever, there are still far too many taxis in the town and there needs to be a cap.” Berwick upon Tweed Borough Council has said it will set out a pol- icy proposing how to deal with the applica- tions for new and renewed licences. However, because the council will cease to exist in April next year, when it becomes part of a merged Northum- berland authority, it has said it does not intend to take any action to prematurely terminate any current hackney carriage licences.
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