DRIVER PROTECTION LIFE REALLY IS FOR THE LIVING
Article by John Lee Drivershields UK Limited
Friends, Roamers, Cabmen, “Lend me your ears”, (apologies to Shakespeare). Too many of you are just not
listening.PHTM does a fantastic job in continually, and some may say monotonously, reporting the tragic injuries and deaths caused by the growing number of attacks on drivers. If life really is for the living, what use are you to those dependent on your ability to work if you become unable to do so?
I can’t deny that I have an interest in supplying driver shields to protect you, but in what should be our biggest sales market, we sell very few to cab drivers. The reason for that is very simple: money and complacency.
MONEY
The cost of a protective shield for drivers is usually £672 - £912 incl. VAT, depending on whether it is for a saloon car or an MPV. You cannot afford it I hear you say - your family may question that.
COMPLACENCY
Are you content and satisfied that the horror stories relayed to you in each month’s PHTM are about someone else and not you?
Yes, today it was somebody else, but it is complacent to imagine that it cannot happen to you. Let us suppose that you have purchased shield protection but never been attacked. The comfort of feeling safe and not having to constantly look in the rear view mirror to see what is happening behind you is alone worth the cost. Furthermore, if a potential customer does not wish to get into your cab on seeing you have shield protection, that is the fare you can do without.
Driver protection comes in two main forms: CCTV and shields. I do not speak against CCTV in cabs; it is a sophisticated innovation and is recommended by many licensing authorities and the police. However, it is a form of detection to record what has already happened, whereas the more basic concept of a shield is all about prevention.
There are various council initiatives to which we have responded resulting in us receiving formal approval for
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the fitting of our products. There are many more authorities which have simply approved our shields because drivers have approached them without our knowledge. Councils which have approved fitting our shields include: Basildon; Leeds; Ipswich; Glasgow; Kirklees, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
Although councils and cab companies wishing their drivers to install protection mostly require them to pay for the shields themselves, some have on behalf of their drivers requested us to offer discounts for quantities on a sliding scale according to numbers ordered. We are happy to do that. There is also the possibility we may be able to introduce a finance company to loan the cost to drivers and spread payments over a period of time. That is under investigation.
I informed PHTM that we stopped attending the EXPO in spite of huge interest shown by cab drivers on exhibition days. The law of diminishing enthusiasm sets in very quickly as few if any sales resulted due to the reasons stated earlier in this article: money and complacency. I applaud PHTM for its relentless efforts in drawing attention to a serious and growing problem in the industry that needs more acceptance of the reality.
Currently, Drivershields UK Limited, is having considerable success in the mobility market with drivers of passengers with a learning disability. As the result of studying the unique protection requirements for these drivers, solutions were introduced and trialled. This led to Drivershields receiving her late Majesty’s Grant of Appointment and The Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Innovation) 2022. It is an example of how working together, we can provide tailor-made solutions.
Listen to what PHTM is telling you and protect your greatest asset: the life worth living. We will be returning to display our shields at the PHTM EXPO on 17 and 18 May 2023. Come and see us on stand 22!
MAY 2023 PHTM
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