IN THE NEWS
TAXI SEAT BELT LAW QUESTIONED AFTER DUNDEE DEATH CRASH
An inquiry into the death of a taxi driver in Dundee who was criti- cally injured when a suicidal motorist crashed into the side of his car concluded last month.
Gavin McCabe, 41, from Perth, died from his injuries six days after Halim Cholmeley, 36, smashed into the side of his taxi on the Myrekirk Road round- about in Kingsway West in March 2008. According to the Press and Journal, one of the key circumstances in Mr McCabe’s death that was addressed at the inquiry was the fact that he had not been wearing a seat belt and
had been thrown from his vehicle.
Under current legisla- tion, taxi drivers are not required to wear a seat belt.
At the closing of the inquiry at Dundee Sheriff Court, fiscal depute Keith Robert- son said there was no clear reasoning be- hind this exemption. He added: “The rules for taxi drivers being exempt from wearing a seat belt seem to relate to a fear that they might be attacked by passengers behind them.
“But even if a front seat passenger is in the taxi, the passenger has to wear a seat
belt, but the driver is not required to do so. “I cannot see why this exemption exists and it occurs to me that it would be for local authorities and taxi licensing bodies to require that drivers are protected and wearing a belt.”
Sheriff George Way said this would be taken into account when making any rec- ommendations in his decision on the inquiry.
He concluded: “This matter has troubled me for some time as it can affect a life-or-death situation, whether or not seat belts become part of taxi drivers’
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“There are other steps outside criminalising the not wearing of seat belts by taxi drivers, through giving guid- ance to local authorities or even the insurance industry to see if this can be addressed.
“This was a terrible accident and I want to be clear that the fact that we have been looking into the issue of whether taxi drivers should wear seat belts is to offer greater pro- tection to others. “The primary cause of Mr McCabe’s accident had nothing to do with him and no blame can be apportioned to him as his car was struck by another vehicle which was being driv- en in an atrocious way. “We are looking at what
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lessons can be learned from this. There is no criticism of Mr McCabe in any way.”
The inquiry had heard previously from crash- scene investigator Constable Gordon Britton, who said that “in all likelihood” Mr McCabe would have survived the crash if he had been wearing a
seat belt. Cholmeley,
from
Angus, was banned from driving for ten years and jailed for six years in March over the death.
The former manage- ment consultant told police and paramedics at the scene that he was trying to take his own life.
LLANELLI CABBIES RESOLVE POLICE SEAT BELT ROW
Police officers and taxi drivers in Llanelli have settled their differ- ences after a row over seat belts.
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Members of the force recently ruffled a few feathers after pulling cabbies over for not wearing their seat belts. In some cases, taxi drivers are exempt from buckling up under the law and a complaint was made to the force about what had been happening. As a result, bobbies took to the beat and vis- ited the town’s taxi rank last month to remind all drivers of what the law says when it comes to exemptions.
The complaint con- cerned members of the Professional Driv- ers’ Association of
Llanelli being issued with tickets for failing to wear a seat belt. “There is a distinction in the law between licensed taxis, which have white plates at the rear, and PHVs, which have yellow ones,” Insp Eric Evans told the LLanelli Star. “And there are exemp- tions in place for both types of taxis.
“The law states the requirements for wear- ing seat belts do not apply to licensed taxis when they are seeking hire, answering a call for hire or carrying a passenger for hire. “In the case of PHVs, though, drivers are exempt from wearing seat belts only when they are carrying a passenger for hire. If
any taxi driver feels they have been unfair- ly penalised then I would urge them to consider raising the matter with the Crimi- nal Justice Unit and writing to them.
“But as with civilian drivers, I would urge professional ones to consider wearing seat belts at all times for their own safety and the safety of their pas- sengers.” Taxi driver Bob Hinton has praised the force for their reaction to the complaint and has wel- comed further inter- action between both parties after it was revealed a meeting between police, licens- ing officials and drivers was sched- uled.
PHTM NOVEMBER 2010
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