Taxi Driver Online

Derby Evening Telegraph

October 24, 2006 Tuesday

HEADLINE: Taxi strike may loom as suspensions mount up

BYLINE: david walsh

Taxi drivers in Derby could strike again after an increase in the number of their licenses being suspended follow-ing roadside checks.

About 300 taxi drivers went on strike at the end of July after claiming that on-the-spot checks by Derby City Council safety officers were too stringent.

But the number of taxis suspended following the checks has now risen from 32 per cent then to 43 per cent now.

The council blames drivers for not carrying out basic checks on the vehicles. But the drivers have refused to rule out further action because, they say, the problem of over-zealous inspectors has not gone away.

Saturday-night revellers found themselves stranded when the drivers undertook strike action between 11pm and 2am on July 29. Councillor Margaret Redfern, chairman of the taxi licensing and appeals committee, said, prior to that strike, that drivers should concentrate on looking after their vehicles instead of complaining.

She has now reiterated that tough stance, saying the number of suspensions will not go down until problems are corrected. "We've written to all the drivers asking them to carry spare bulbs and carry out simple checks on their vehicles to ensure they're safe," she said.

"The numbers of suspensions are climbing, but there will be no compromise on public safety. "The simple key to all of this would be for all drivers to maintain their vehicles to keep them safe." Mrs Redfern said that even the prospect of another strike would not change her attitude. "I would sooner talk to them to find a way forward. But if they chose to take vehicles off the road, that would be their decision."

The number of roadside inspections on hackney cabs did go down in the last three months, compared to the previous quarter, from 65 to 53, but suspensions rose from 21 to 23. More than twice as many private-hire vehicles were suspended across the same periods In the last three months, 29 of the 72 checked led to suspensions, but just 14 of the 50 checked in the previous quarter were suspended.

Derby Hackney Union chairman Mohammed Saffaf said: "The enforcement officers have got their job to do, but we still feel they're overdoing it. "I don't know if more action will be taken because it's up to the individual drivers as much as the union. But you can't rule anything out."

Taxi driver Pete Stone, who led the protests last time, said: "Things haven't changed, so we're still not happy with the situation."
...........................................

It's not rocket science fella, sort your motor out and they wont fail you. And if they fail on bulbs, then keep a set in the motor. Might cost you all of a tenner.

_________________
IDFIMH

I just don't understand this.

Here in Edinburgh we have a strict annual test. We also have roadside checks for vehicles and licence irregularities. Even the DSS get involved to catch benefit cheats.

But we don't have wholesale licence suspensions. The rules are laid down, and everyone knows what they are. If they don't want put off the road, they just adhere to them.

Customers benefit because they're travelling in safer vehicles.

Drivers benefit because owners are forced to keep vehicles in good order. If these test weren't implemented, drivers would be driving around in buckets.

Perhaps in Derby it is common practice to hail a bucket?

It's not unusual for brand new cabs to fail the test in Derby.

Stringent testing is one thing,and petty nitpicking is another. The wrong shade of yellow, is but one.

_________________
Former taxi driver