Taxi Driver Online

If you were one you wouldn't need to ask.

So as one driver to another, perhaps you could answer the question then stu?

The answer will also help the non-drivers

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Perhaps if you told me the ingredients of a professional taxi driver I might be able to challenge your opinion, or perhaps even agree with it?

There being no set criteria for the assumed description of Professional Taxi driver I am at a loss as to what makes a taxi driver a professional?

I suppose the word "Professional" is a euphonism used by some to elevate the job description of Taxi driver to a higher level than it perhaps deserves. Considering you are of the opinion that you are a professional cabby and I have the opinion that I am just a plain old cab driver with no claim to being anything else, I am wondering what sets you apart from people like me who don't require the pretentious name tag of professional to conduct themselves in a way that is not unprofessional?

We frequently hear the professional phraseology but no one seems to know what one is? We now have you proclaiming you know the attributes of a professional taxi driver but perhaps I am one already but don't realise it? Therefore I would like to know what makes "you", a professional taxi driver and if your definition has a wide consensus, or is your opinion isolated and misguided?

Are you prepared to put your reputation on the line and explain the requirements in your own opinion, of what constitutes a professional taxi driver, or was your intervention merely a cheap shot at all Taxi drivers who are not convinced that the word professional should be used in such a liberal manner without first defining the requirements and attributes that are associated with the terminology?

I suppose you could ask a 100 cab drivers what constitutes a professional cab driver and get a 100 different answers? That would hardly be a consensus, would it?

Regards

JD

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yes and you wonder why the punters say why didn't you turn right here, you say and quote the highway code

the punters then say, you must be taking me the long way round cos all the other drivers turn right here

Agreed but lets be honest if you show them the sign that states NO RIGHT TURN then that throws the punters argument right out of the window, you would be adhering to the law quite simple really

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Legal and proud

Loads a love from BERTIE !!

I dont class myself as a professional taxi driver,I just drive a taxi,so I will be going out for another night of trying to be professional in conditions,which to be fair, are deteriorating quite fast,just being able to function in these circumstances must count for something though.

Well I suppose we should look for the definition of the word profession,so lets start the definition of the word on Wikipedia:

The list of characteristics that follows is extensive, but does not claim to include every characteristic that has ever been attributed to professions, nor do all of these features apply to every profession:

Skill based on theoretical knowledge: Professionals are assumed to have extensive theoretical knowledge (e.g. medicine, law, scripture or engineering) and to possess skills based on that knowledge that they are able to apply in practice.

Professional association: Professions usually have professional bodies organized by their members, which are intended to enhance the status of their members and have carefully controlled entrance requirements.
Extensive period of education: The most prestigious professions usually require at least three years at university.

Testing of competence: Before being admitted to membership of a professional body, there is usually a requirement to pass prescribed examinations that are based on mainly theoretical knowledge.

Instituitional training: In addition to examinations, there is usually a requirement for a long period of institutionalized training where aspiring professionals acquire specified practical experience in some sort of trainee role before being recognized as a full member of a professional body.

Licenced practioners: Professions seek to establish a register or membership so that only those individuals so licenced are recognized.

Work autonomy: Professionals tend to retain control over their work, even when they are employed outside the profession in commercial or public organizations.

Code of professional conduct or ethics: Professional bodies usually have codes of conduct or ethics for their members and disciplinary procedures for those who infringe the rules.

Self-regulation: Professional bodies tend to insist that they should be self-regulating and independent from government.

Public service and altruism: The earning of fees for services rendered can be defended because they are provided in the public interest, e.g. the work of doctors contributes to public health.

Exclusion, monopoly and legal recognition: Professions tend to exclude those who have not met their requirements and joined the appropriate professional body.

Control of remuneration and advertising: Where levels of remuneration are determined by government, professional bodies are active in negotiating remuneration packages for their members. Some profession set standard scale fees, but goverment advocacy of competition means that these are no longer generally enforced.

High status and rewards: The most successful professions achieve high status and rewards for their members. Some of the factors included in this list contribute to such sucess.

Individual clients: Many professions have individual fee-paying clients. For example, in accountancy, "the profession" usually refers to accountants who have individual and corporate clients, rather than accountants who are employees of organizations.

Middle-class occupations: Tradionally many professions have been viewed as 'respectable' occupations for middle and upper classes.[5].

Male-dominated: The highest status professions tend to have been male dominated. For example, the proportion of women in school-teaching has increased as its status has declined, and women are being admitted to the priesthood now that its status has declined relative to other professions. Similar arguments apply to race and class: ethnic groups and working-class people are no less disadvantaged in most professions than they are in society generally[6].

Offer reassurance: Professionals are able to offer reassurance to their clients that although there appear to be problems, everything is normal or being dealt with properly, and this reassurance may be offered rather than solutions to particular problems. For example, sick people may be reassured that they will probably get better in a few days.

Ritual: Church ritual, and the Court procedure are obviously ritualistic.
Legitimacy: Professions have clear legal authority over some activities (e.g. certifying the insane) but are also seen as adding legitimacy to awide range of related activities.

Inaccessible body of knowledge: In some professions, the body of knowledge is relatively inaccessible to the uniitiated. Medicine and law are typically not school subjects and have separate faculties and even separate libaries at universities.
.
Indeterminacy of knowledge: Professional knowledge contains elements that escape being mastered and communicated in the form of rules and can only be acquired through experience.

Mobility: The skill knowledge and authority of professionals belongs to the professionals as individuals, not the organizations for which they work. Professionals are therefore relatively mobile in employment opportunities as they can move to other employers and take their talents with them. Standardization of professional training and procedures enhances this mobility.[7].

Or their definition of a professional:

Definition
A professional is a worker required to possess a large body of knowledge derived from extensive academic study (usually tertiary), with the training almost always formalized.

Professions are at least to a degree self-regulating, in that they control the training and evaluation processes that admit new persons to the field, and in judging whether the work done by their members is up to standard. This differs from other kinds of work where regulation (if considered necessary) is imposed by the state, or where official quality standards are often lacking. Professions have some historical links to Guilds in these regards.

Professionals usually have autonomy in the workplace - they are expected to utilize their independent judgement and professional ethics in carrying out their responsibilities. This holds true even if they are employees instead of working on their own. Typically a professional provides a service (in exchange for payment or salary), in accordance with established protocols for licensing, ethics, procedures, standards of service and training / certification.

The above definitions were echoed by economist and sociologist Max Weber, who noted that professions are defined by the power to exclude and control admission to the profession, as well as by the development of a particular vocabulary specific to the occupation, and at least somewhat incomprehensible to outsiders.[citation needed]


Trades
In narrow usage, not all expertise is considered a profession. Although sometimes referred to as professions, such occupations as skilled construction work are more generally thought of as trades or crafts. The completion of an apprenticeship is generally associated with skilled labor or trades such as carpenter, electrician, plumber, and other similar occupations. A related (though not always valid) distinction would be that a professional does mainly mental or administrative work, as opposed to engaging in physical work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profession

Heaven forbid, I don't class myself as a professional cab driver.

Just a highly skilled, good looking, professional private hire driver.

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IDFIMH

Now that you have copied all those terms of reference of the meaning of the word "professional" from a reference library of sorts, how about you putting your own interpretation on the term "professional cab driver" and perhaps you can name me one?

Considering you don't know what a professional cab driver looks or acts like then I'm at a loss as to how you drew the conclusion that if I don't know what one is, then I mustn't be one myself? I'm afraid that is precisely why I asked you to enlighten us as to what constitutes a professional cab driver because you appeared to be of the opinion that a professional cab driver is aware of being one but you have just pointed out that you cannot define one, so I assume that places you at the same table as myself?

It's amazing how it took you so many words to discover that your earlier comments not only apply to me but also to yourself?

Thank you for this input but we are still non the wiser.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Not that it's like stu to avoid a question by posting a whole splurge of stuff copied from the internet, but which is not really relevant to the question asked

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

I have obviously caused you some distress/anger by the comment I made,I will go,however quite a few of the definitions seem to fit the description of one side of the trade at least.

P.S You made mention of the driving skills being linked to the professional taxi driver,so unless there is some form of specialised test and training in place I dont think you can link them,thats just my opinion though.

Can you divorce a professional driver from a professional cab driver?

I doubt a professional driver would turn right at a prohibited "no right turn". However this thread is about Taxi drivers doing just that.

I suppose under those circumstances we can assume that a professional driver has superior qualities and standards to that of a professional cab driver.

I see cab drivers not conforming to the highway code every time I go out in my cab so what constitutes a professional cab driver? Is it someone who treats the highway code with contempt, or is it someone who respects the highway code?

Do you respect the highway code or do you treat it with contempt? Just like those drivers in Plymouth and Manchester who totally disregard road traffic signs?

Do me a favour STU, if you ever find out what constitutes a professional taxi driver let me know.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Well I have seen it from both sides JD, in one of those roles I had to sit a test after a few weeks of training,fairly comprehensive training at that and with the other driving ability was never mentioned nor tested so nobody would really know who was a professional driver and who wasn't, but since I was tested and classed as one previously,as many others would have been, HGV,PCV or PSV as it was, I dont suppose it really applies to those people in the same way as it would to someone who has only driven a family car,but on the other hand they would have sat the driving test that said they were competent to drive.

The one thing you learn though is that each thing requires a different set of skills really,anyway once I have worked out what a professional Taxi driver is I will let you know,perhaps if many people are blatantly ignoring a traffic sign they should look at the situation that is causing so many people to treat it in the way they are.

There is no doubt that we all thank you for your input but the point I am trying to make is that which is expressed in magazines such as Taxi Talk and trade organisations such as the GMBU.

They suggest they represent the professional cab driver but if their subscriptions were limited to those cab drivers who classed themselves as professional, then I think they might soon go into financial liquidation.

I don't believe there is such a thing as a professional cab driver but I do believe that a cab driver can conduct him or herself in a professional manner when they are transporting passengers.

I would like to think I treat my passengers with respect and try and make their journey as pleasant as possible and without incident. If that is being professional then I have to say that in my opinion its just basic good manners.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.