Taxi Driver Online

To cut to the chase...

Turned into Silver Street in Lincoln to find a Stretch Limo on a Four Cab Rank. I asked him to move it, and he told me to F*** off. I asked a nearby Police officer to move him, and the constable spoke to him, came back to me and told me that the limo was a licensed vehicle, and he was not going to move it on. I got out and asked the constable to request to see the "license" of the driver and the vehicle. I was told to return to my vehicle, or risk arrest. My complaint goes in tommorrow, yes, I did get the officer's number.
All on the City CCTV, I will be requesting this to be viewed by Senior Officers.

That doesn't surprise my at all.

They are a law to themselves.

Flyer

The Police or the Limo drivers?

Possibly both.

It's shame you didn't get a photo of the limo, cos the press would have loved to do a story on that.

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IDFIMH

I usually have my digital camera with me, that would have made a good photo for the forum

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

A private vehicle can only drop off on a rank and wait for such length of time that is sufficient to disembark it's passengers. You cannot loiter or stay stationary on a rank giving the impression you are plying for hire.

The constable was wrong in his assesment but that is probably because he doesn't know the law. You did right to take his number. Next time he might not be so hasty in dismissing your complaint.

Regards

JD

JD, I'm sorry but your comment of allowing a PHV to park on a rank to allow passengers to alight is incorrect. No vehicle other than a Hackney Carriage can park/wait etc on a rank. There are exemptions to this, that is a PSV dropping / picking up passenger on a designated bus route or traffic which has come to a stop due to congestion or similar i.e. traffic signals.
The case law on this is Bradford Council v Obaid (29.06.01).

If Jimbo took the registration number of the vehicle he should make a statement and pass it to the local authority who should prosecute the offender.

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LO.

The officer in question may have bigger problems than me. The "incident" that he was dealing with prior to my complaint, involves a missunderstanding on his part, where he and a fellow officer found two men on the same street pinning another to the ground. They waded in with truncheons on a batter first, ask questions later. Turns out the guy on the ground was in an epilectic fit, and his two friends were holding him in the recovery position. Jeez, I'm glad I didn't push my luck with him or I would have been next, and I'm really not being flippant when I say this.

Another issue that needs to be taken up in relation to the 'ranking' point, is whether the rank is actually legit.

I recently spoke to one of the top highways man, and he told he that loads of ranks were really not pukka ranks.

Apparently the rank needs to be painted in the same colour as the rest of the road markings i.e. if there are yellow lines either side of the rank, then it needs to be painted yellow. If their are no parking restrictions, other than the rank, then it needs to be painted white.

Also some councils have enabled ranks under the wrong act. Which should come as a surprise to no-one.

He also mentioned that a certain City, with the intials B&H, have ranks that aren't ranks, and not even the local NCP parking attendants will ticket if Joe Public park on them.

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IDFIMH

Any news on the limo please?
we have a few that park on some hove ranks. in truth noone else sits on them.
Anyway they are owned by a pizza man, and the ranks right near his restaurants.
Still would be nice if they delivered pizzas.
because thats all they are fit for.

Me thinks you have been watching the 'Sweeney' on dvd recently?

The only reference I can find to the Obaid case Paul is the one below. I notice it was an appeal from the magistrates court. It might be helpful if we knew the length of time the hackney carriage officer said MR Obaid waited on the rank. I also notice Mr Obaid didn't offer a reasonable excuse as he was entitled to under sub section 3 of section 64 of the act.

It would be interesting to read the Rodgers case referred to in the judgement. I know there is at least one Licensing Authority in England who has a bye law prohibiting Private hire vehicles from dropping off or picking up on a taxi rank. I wonder why licensing officers haven't brought a case of this type against a private motorist? Unless of course Rodgers is that case?

I also notice the court was trying to make the distinction between "stopping" and "waiting" section 64 would have been less ambiguous if it had included "stopping" as well as "waiting".

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council v Sabih Thiyab Obaid (Divisional Court 29 June 2001)

This was an appeal by way of case stated by the Justices of the County of West Yorkshire, in respect of their adjudication as a Magistrates Court at Bradford on 14 December 2000. The Respondent ("O"), a private hire taxi driver, had stopped within the stand for hackney carriages at Manor Row to drop off his passengers. Having dropped off his passengers O was immediately about to leave the stand and proceed about his private hire business. Before he was able to pull off from the stand he was stopped by a hackney carriage enforcement officer who, after interview, issued O with a caution notice regarding an offence under Section 64 (3) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 ("the Act"). It was contended by the appellant ("B") that the stopping of O’s private hire taxi within the limits of the hackney carriage rank constituted waiting on a stand for hackney carriages. It was contended by O that he did not wait on a stand for hackney carriages. He contended that as soon as he dropped off his passengers he was about to leave the hackney rank to continue his private hire business and this did not constitute waiting. He did not raise the defence of reasonable excuse under Section 64 (3) of the Act. The justices decided that O, not being a hackney carriage, did not cause his vehicle to wait on a hackney rank as per the offence and therefore acquitted him after trial. The question for the opinion of the High Court was whether stopping a motor vehicle on a taxi rank (being a stand for hackney carriages under Section 63 of the Act) in order to set down passengers amounted to or causing or permitting it to wait there contrary to Section 64 (1) of the Act.

HELD –

Referring to the case of Rodgers v Taylor (1987) RTR 86, as there was unrestricted access to a taxi rank, the time taken to set down passengers could not be considered de minimis. The word "wait" should be given as natural and ordinary meaning in the appropriate context. The word denoted stopping which was more than purely nominal. The period of time in this case could not be said to be purely nominal. O did cause his vehicle to wait. The appeal was therefore allowed, the decision of the justices was quashed and the matter was remitted to the Magistrates Court.

Regards

JD