there should be, but they feel intimidated and worried about driving at
night.As do a lot of themen these days! But there are somanymen and women out there who have devoted decades of their working lives to this industry. Why? Because they love it. They love the free- dom, they enjoy the camaraderie and banter with their passengers – and until recent times, they couldmake a decent living on their terms.
And yet the term “taxi driver” still equates to “third class citizen” in the eyes of a lot of members of the public, and - dare we say it – some licensing officers and local Councillors we could name.
In this month’s FAQs we discuss the issue of using licence suspen- sion as a punishment, and we’ve put forward the views of barrister Charles Holland – which for the most part make all kinds of sense. However, one phrase within his 11-page dissertation really did ran- kle: in the context of comparing our industry to that of solicitors and barristers he actually stated that “taxi driving is not a profes- sion”.
OK, so our drivers don’t have LLB after their name. They don’t have to gain a degree to drive a taxi. (Go tell that to the thousands of Lon- don taxi drivers who have to study three years for the Knowledge!) But by God, in the school of hard knocks and the university of get- ting the s**t kicked out of them, they’re top of the list.
All these and more are reasons why PHTM and the National Associa- tion wanted to mount a campaign for driver safety, to try to reduce the ever-increasing incidents of attacks against drivers who are doing no more than that which they do every day and night: getting their passengers home safely, often when there is no other form of transport available.
Why should licensed drivers have to tolerate the kind of abuse they are subjected to: verbal, racial, sexual, physical (GBH and the like), false claims against them, vehicle damage, bilking… the list goes on and on. And yes, we’ve highlighted a load of these stories in recent editions of PHTM, for a very good reason: we wish to deliver the message that – whether mandatory or voluntary – an in-car solid
state CCTV system is the best way to combat all this abuse, on the basis that prevention is always better than cure.
With a view to reducing the price tag for these systems – as that is the main objection from vehicle proprietors – we’ve begun a search for boost funding. Frankly the initial reaction we got from having written to all 44 Offices of Police and Crime Commissioners was dis- couraging, to say the least. A lot of them cried poor-mouth and said they had no funding available; however several wrote back and said they believe the vehicle owners should have to pay for the CCTV themselves, as it is their own vehicle they are protecting.
Nevermind the vehicle;what about their own hide?! There couldwell be a point here… but contrast that with bus, train and Underground drivers who are afforded a degree of protection via CCTV, and they don’t have to pay for it – the company pays.
Anyway, the search goes on: we’ve just asked all UK local authorities to advise us whether they mandate CCTV, or if not, do they allow such systems in their licensed vehicles – and if so, do they know of any funding sources. Obviously we’ll bring you any encouraging news (the good stuff, again) if we get any.
So yes, we’re campaigning as best we can for increased driver safety. But thismonth’smessage is quite simply this: You’reworth it! This paper is proud of our industry, and we wanted to say so publicly – in both words and deeds. Themore driverswemay be able to assist in keeping their safety and sanity, the more positive reports we’ll be able to bring our readers – and Government, and anyone else who will listen.
The advent of driverless cars (and taxis) may be upon us sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, a helluva lot of folk still have to get from A to B – and our licence holders are the people who will carry on transporting them. Those drivers (and their operators) should be praised to the skies, and to our way of thinking that doesn’t happen often enough.
So until next time – good on ya! – sayonara.
OCTOBER 2018
9
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