Taxi Driver Online

Meter failure costs cabbie

A WORKINGTON taxi driver has been prosecuted by Allerdale Council for failing to use her taximeter.

West Allerdale Magistrates Court heard how licensed taxi driver Pauline Hucknall, 50, of Stoney Garth, Great Clifton, Workington, had not attempted to activate the meter while carrying a passenger.

Mrs Hucknall, who appeared in court on Tuesday, pleaded guilty to the charge.

She was fined £75 and ordered to pay £75 costs and £15 to the victim.

Her hackney carriage driver's licence had also been suspended for two weeks during the investigation.

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IDFIMH

A company in our town NEVER use the meter.

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Grandad,

Intentional, or just plain human error? And was the passenger overcharged or undercharged? Could she have informed the licensing department that it was a case of a lapse of concentration and the passenger was charged less than the normal fare for the journey and there was no attempt on her part to commit an offence of overcharging.

I don't think there is a taxi driver in the country who at some time or another has forgot to engage the meter. We are not immune from the human error syndrome but just how much was this a case of human error or an attempt at a calculated deception?

We will probably never 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.

I've certanly forgotton to set the meter many times, when it happens I always charge considerably less than what I estimate the fare to be. Never had any complaints.

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There's no excuse for animal abuse. If you ain't vegan you are an animal abuser.

You are wise to agree a lower fare, in most of these types of incidents asking for a lower fare will normally deter any potential argument about the correct fare. I would advise anyone who does forget to engage their meter to ask the passenger at the end of the journey if they agree with the estimated fare and if they are happy with it? You could also ask the passenger what they normally pay for the same journey and accept their figure. At no time should you argue with the passenger in such circumstances or demand a fare that you know to be greater than what it might have been.

CCTV is a valuable asset in these circumstances because it will record the incident in detail which in turn will exonerate you from any potential malicious claim of overcharging.

Regards

JD
Regards

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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.

Thats what I normally do. Never had a problem.

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