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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 4:14 am 
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Alex wrote:
Taxi driver who refused to take dying woman keeps his licence

Robert Melrose escaped with a severe warning from Glasgow licensing chiefs but was warned he would lose his licence if he was ever reported again. Melrose drove off after refusing to carry cancer victim Sita Picton, who died three weeks later.

Ms Picton's husband was outraged at the decision to issue a severe warning. Neil Docherty said: "I want him off the road. "He shouldn't be working with the public after this shameful act."

Glasgow City Council's licensing committee was told Melrose, from Govan, drove off after seeing Ms Picton was wheelchair-bound. The committee heard Ms Picton, of Scotstoun, asked if she could be strapped into the back of his black cab but the driver told her he "could not be bothered with this rigmarole" and drove off, leaving the mother-of-three and a friend stranded on Dumbarton Road, Partick.

Melrose denied the claims and said he offered to take the pair but did not have the equipment to strap in her wheelchair. But Mr Docherty denied such a conversation took place. And Melrose couldn't explain why he didn't call for another cab to pick up the two passengers.

The pair had to wait another 30 minutes in the rain before they were picked up by another taxi. Ms Picton, a child psychologist at Yorkhill Sick Kids' hospital, died from her illness just three weeks after the incident in November last year - only days after her 40th birthday.

Melrose was found guilty of breaching three conditions of his taxi driver's licence and warned if he stepped out of line again he would face losing his licence altogether.

Today Mr Docherty said he was shocked by the decision to allow Melrose to continue as a cabbie. He said: "My wife died three weeks after this, which just goes to show how ill she was. "All this guy wanted to do was make money and when he realised it was going to take time to put my wife in the taxi he drove off."

Melrose refused to comment when leaving the Burgh Court where the hearing took place.



Dragging on every heart string here: w/c, cancer, dying woman with kids, works with sick kids, left in the pouring rain. The driver did not want the job, thats it, all the rest is irrelevent. We are not slaves no other job or profession forces people to work against their will. I cannot walk into a pub and demand to be served, the landlord has the right to refuse to serve me without giving any reason. I have every sympathy for the woman and her family and do not wish to make light of her tragedy. But people who exploit cases like this with shock headlines and horror stories are the "scumbags of the year". I do not believe anyone in a w/c would go out without arranging transport in advance or have the telephone number of a reliable service provider. Very little encouragement is given to those that chose to provide WAV's. Carrot is always better than stick, zero rate VAT on WAV's, reduce license fee, give fuel rebates etc. that will produce WAV's and drivers who will do the jobs willingley.





see what I mean by unproffessional?

now this one even lyes saying nobody else is forced to work.

its illeagal to refuse service to someone who is disabled and this driver should have lost his badge.


MISSED THE POINT BY A MILE. "UNPROFFESSIONAL" you are a moron.



ok, what is your point?
you doubt she was so ill?


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 10:25 am 
My 1st point is that her condition is irrelevent. She has no more rights than any other fare or even the driver. What about the drivers rights. The tone of the article puts the blame on him for her condition. He refused a fare thats all, the rest is window dressing. Would this fuss have been made if a business man was left ?
My main point though is the WAV situation, instead of using legislation to force reluctant drivers to do the work why not offer incentives for those that do. If I were a w/c customer I would much rather a driver who was happy to pick me up than one forced to by law. This type of negative legislation rarely works effectivley and creates resentment.
Every driver at some time refuses or drives past a fare because they don't feel like picking them up, this incident is being blown out of all proportion. There is far too much negative press and comment about the taxi trade, and a lot of it comes from within. Stop the bitching and infighting. No-one comes out looking good, the public perception of the trade could not be much lower.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 12:24 pm 
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Alex
"all this guy was wanting was to make money"quote husband.
So if you do wheelchair work you do not make money?
I have concentrated on wheelchair customers for years,Im not
rich,but you still earn a living.
This lad should have had his license taken away,he is a disgrace to the taxi trade.



I have been in agony for the last 3 weeks because of a back injury caused when loading a w/c. No-one is paying me compensation or loss of earnings. Everyone is far to quick to slag off drivers, I get sick of this emotional black mail.



well if you cannot stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
I deal every day with mentaly ill, mentally disabled, wheelchair the lot, but I train drivers on health and safety and employ proceadures.

look are you one of those in this job cos no other will have you?

Oh so you spent your school days dreaming of becoming a taxi driver.
No-one chooses to be a taxi driver, its what some people end up doing.
It's the job any idiot can do and most doing it are.
You "train drivers", have you never heard the expression " those that can do, those that can't teach".
Doff your cap and knuckle down Mr. Proceedures.
If set your ambitions low enough you are sure to achieve them.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 3:31 pm 
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Alex
"all this guy was wanting was to make money"quote husband.
So if you do wheelchair work you do not make money?
I have concentrated on wheelchair customers for years,Im not
rich,but you still earn a living.
This lad should have had his license taken away,he is a disgrace to the taxi trade.


Was he allowed to start the taximeter whilst he loaded the w/c ?
If not you can't blame him why should anyone work for nothing.
We are all in it to make money, its a business.


Why do we always get stupid e-mails like this?
a journey commences at the point of service and ends at the end of service.

how anybody can condone what he did, but its to be expected from the likes of some unproffessionals on here!


Are you saying start the meter on arrival ? or after the w/c is loaded ?
where does the "point of service start" ?
Why is this a stupid e-mail, is this not a valid point ? Are you really that blinkered.


no I am saying the meter arises at the point of service, weve had this b4
its started in the case of wa prior to loading, if you load.



Not in Bournemouth, the fare charts states the meter must not be started until the w/c has been loaded.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 4:56 pm 
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Anonymous wrote:
My 1st point is that her condition is irrelevent. She has no more rights than any other fare or even the driver.


Of course it relevent, in terms of what has happened after the event.

In the same way it's a lot worse speeding and hitting a child, as opposed to hitting a fly.

Did the driver accused want the women to die? Of course not. But I bet you anything you wish, that if a similar situation arose tommorrow, then both he and his colleagues would pick the customer up.

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 4:59 pm 
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Anonymous wrote:
Not in Bournemouth, the fare charts states the meter must not be started until the w/c has been loaded.


Is that the same Bournemouth that says that any new HC plates that are issued, aren't allowed to be transferred for 5 years?

I would give that condition less than a minute in court. :shock:

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 5:20 pm 
Sussex wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
My 1st point is that her condition is irrelevent. She has no more rights than any other fare or even the driver.


Of course it relevent, in terms of what has happened after the event.

In the same way it's a lot worse speeding and hitting a child, as opposed to hitting a fly.

Did the driver accused want the women to die? Of course not. But I bet you anything you wish, that if a similar situation arose tommorrow, then both he and his colleagues would pick the customer up.


So by your logic it would be ok to hit an old person cause they would die soon anyway !!!!
No, in a similar situation the driver would not stop, he would drive on by, or make up some excuse not to take the w/c.
The law is stupid, it is very difficult to enforce and has the opposite effect to what they want to achieve.
The driver in this case was an idiot, he handled the situation badly, he didnt have the brains or could not be bothered to come up with an excuse to cover not taking the w/c.
Yours is typical knee-jerk reaction, you are as thoughtless and stupid as the accused driver, and I bet you just as much that you have passed over a fare at some time.
Think of the damage done to the trade as a whole before you charge in with you condemnation of your colleagues.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 5:31 pm 
Sussex wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Not in Bournemouth, the fare charts states the meter must not be started until the w/c has been loaded.


Is that the same Bournemouth that says that any new HC plates that are issued, aren't allowed to be transferred for 5 years?

I would give that condition less than a minute in court. :shock:




Yes it is the same. As for standing up in court, the cost of finding out would be more than the plate was worth.
Please start litigation today and save a starving lawyer.

I give up. What is the link between plate transfers and the topic of this thread ?
Don't bother to answer that. Who knows where the answer will take us.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 5:49 pm 
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Alex
"all this guy was wanting was to make money"quote husband.
So if you do wheelchair work you do not make money?
I have concentrated on wheelchair customers for years,Im not
rich,but you still earn a living.
This lad should have had his license taken away,he is a disgrace to the taxi trade.



I have been in agony for the last 3 weeks because of a back injury caused when loading a w/c. No-one is paying me compensation or loss of earnings. Everyone is far to quick to slag off drivers, I get sick of this emotional black mail.


well if you cannot do the job, and are not fit enough you should get another job suited to your glass back.

quite frankly its Dicks like you who create more stringent medicals.



Its a good job the medicals do not include brain scans as most would be clear.
(the joke being: "clear" as in no brains, get it, no I thought it might be too clever for you.)


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 8:13 pm 
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Anonymous wrote:
So by your logic it would be ok to hit an old person cause they would die soon anyway !!!!

Of course not, my point is that people should be responsible for their own actions, and if they wish to take chances by ignoring WAV customers, then they have only themselves to blame.
Anonymous wrote:
The law is stupid, it is very difficult to enforce and has the opposite effect to what they want to achieve.

I don't believe it is difficult to enforce, if it was then we would be un-aware of the idiot from Glasgow.
Anonymous wrote:
Yours is typical knee-jerk reaction, you are as thoughtless and stupid as the accused driver, and I bet you just as much that you have passed over a fare at some time. Think of the damage done to the trade as a whole before you charge in with you condemnation of your colleagues.

No, the damage was done by the driver, it was him, and only him at fault. However he is not the only one who damages the trade, that is shared by those who wish to turn a blind eye, and try to sweep all the s*** under the carpet.

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 8:17 pm 
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Anonymous wrote:
Yes it is the same. As for standing up in court, the cost of finding out would be more than the plate was worth..

Only those that lose in court pay, well 99.9% of the time.
Anonymous wrote:
I give up. What is the link between plate transfers and the topic of this thread ?

The point was raised that Bournemouth insist that the meter starts when the WAV customer is loaded. I added that we should take little notice of a council that decides it's own primary law.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 12:33 am 
Sussex wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Yes it is the same. As for standing up in court, the cost of finding out would be more than the plate was worth..

Only those that lose in court pay, well 99.9% of the time.
Anonymous wrote:
I give up. What is the link between plate transfers and the topic of this thread ?

The point was raised that Bournemouth insist that the meter starts when the WAV customer is loaded. I added that we should take little notice of a council that decides it's own primary law.


If any driver were to challege this he would be slated by you and all the other bleeding hearts for attacking the disable.
Your obvious joy in adding to the crap being heaped on this driver for not taking a w/c, a fellow driver, shows how shallow and mis-guided you are. You must be a very sad and pathetic person. Perhaps when you get a hackney of your own the envey and bitterness will go away.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 7:29 am 
The whole point of the DDA was to try and treat all the same.
So if you start the meter straight away when a non wheel-chair customers hires you, then surely it must be the same for wheel-chair customers.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 6:33 pm 
Anonymous wrote:
The whole point of the DDA was to try and treat all the same.
So if you start the meter straight away when a non wheel-chair customers hires you, then surely it must be the same for wheel-chair customers.



Yes its all part of the service the driver is providing. But Bournemouth Council do not agree, loading and unloading must be provided free. Equal treatment is not good enough and as taxis tend to be small businesses it is easy to force this type of rule on them. Also as most Bournemouth drivers do not have WAV they are happy to see anything that discourages more WAV taxis.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 12:35 am 
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
The whole point of the DDA was to try and treat all the same.
So if you start the meter straight away when a non wheel-chair customers hires you, then surely it must be the same for wheel-chair customers.



Yes its all part of the service the driver is providing. But Bournemouth Council do not agree, loading and unloading must be provided free. Equal treatment is not good enough and as taxis tend to be small businesses it is easy to force this type of rule on them. Also as most Bournemouth drivers do not have WAV they are happy to see anything that discourages more WAV taxis.


look lets not reduce this to that that happens in Bournmouth, they are wrong and thier rule is wrong!

please stop judging the whole country on bloody Bournmouth!


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