ALL COUNCILS ROTECT OUR PASSENGERS
to answer them as factually as possible based on the research we have carried out.
This is particularly relevant for yourselves as licensing authorities, as you have the mounting responsibility of having to consider whether or not to approve the installation of this type of product in the vehicles you license; or indeed if there is any legal basis to refuse. So this is truly a balancing act between authorising safety measures, and being accused of allowing added risks to be installed into a vehicle. We understand this fully. On that basis we set out various questions and points that have arisen on this issue:
• What are these screens made of?
There is a range of materials being used, with varying degrees of success and protection. We understand that the most reliable for providing both strength and flexibility is polycarbonate; there are also screens made from polypropylene and other forms of plastic or vinyl sheeting. You may have seen some of the more inferior products, which resemble cling film or a shower curtain and would offer little or no protection; in fact may pose a suffocation risk.
• How are the screens fastened to the vehicle?
Again, this varies widely depending on the manufacturer… or indeed a home-made creation. Anything from rivets to gaffer tape to staples have been utilised, and send shivers down the spine of those who view such creations. As far as we can see, the best type of screen is mounted onto a frame and then inserted into the vehicle with the frame fitting into the B-post site.
• The screen isn’t airtight; therefore it won’t provide proper protection.
It has been documented from every medical/health source worldwide that the Covid-19 coronavirus itself is not airborne; it is transmitted via droplets projected by a cough or sneeze onto hard surfaces – or indeed onto people. A properly constructed and fitted protection screen will provide every bit as much protection as the partition in a purpose-built taxi – which is not airtight either.
Further, there is no evidence as to whether travelling in a purpose- built taxi is safer than travelling in PHVs or specific models thereof, so if a purpose-built taxi is entitled – indeed, mandated in many cases – to have a partition screen, then we see no reason why
licensed saloon drivers should not be afforded the same rights to the same level of protection.
• It is claimed that the AC/heating systems in vehicles will spread the virus and no screen would protect passengers from that.
Again, this contention is weak on the basis that the virus is not airborne; it is conveyed via droplets which can only be projected via the trajectory of a sneeze or cough – or direct contact. Droplets cannot pass through windows or any other solid surface; furthermore, the opening of a taxi/PHV window has to be sensible under any circumstance, as it would provide more than adequate ventilation and fresh air circulation.
• The screen must be transparent; both driver and passenger must be able to see each other clearly. There may be safeguarding issues.
The properly manufactured units provide total, clear transparency over the front seats through the screen, and – because it is not a totally sealed unit – there is no difficulty in each hearing the other. In fact it protects additionally by blocking possible transmission of the virus whilst speaking.
Safeguarding? Surely such a protection product would be beneficial to safeguarding issues, as it presents a barrier between the driver and the passenger if there was any doubt as to the driver’s character or intentions. Furthermore, to allude to any safeguarding implications by the presence of a partition screen would open up possible questions as to the validity of the same screens as installed in purpose-built hackney carriage vehicles.
• What happens during a collision? Will the screen obstruct the side airbags?
This is where recognised and documented crash testing and risk assessment comes into play. The product we have viewed has undergone all these procedures, and the eight-point risk assessment concludes that the protection screen does not compromise the curtain airbags. That is why the installation of this particular product is bespoke, to account for the variation of airbag locations across various makes and models of vehicle.
• What if the vehicle is upended in a crash; will the screen shatter? Again, the product must be tested for durability and flexibility
....WE ARE THE FOURTH EMERGENCY SERVICE.... MAY 2020
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