Wednesday, 28 January 2015

No Answer From A Taxi Driver

It would appear that I won't be getting an answer from the taxi driver, at least not from Glasgow who licences him. They don't think they have any responsibility for drivers they licence.
 
Dear Dr Brennan

Complaint re Glasgow Licence vehicle

I refer to the above and would advise you of our findings in this matter.

Instructions from our Legal Department advise that this is a road traffic offence & is out with our remit. This offence should be reported to your local community Police office.

The powers available to the Enforcement Unit in complaints investigation are restricted to addressing incidents where a licence holder has contravened a condition or conditions attached to their licence or where a licence holder fails to meet the requirements of the legislation that governs his/her licence.


This concludes our part in this unfortunate incident.


So, what exactly is the point of the licencing organisation if not to ensure that a driver is competent  to undertake the job that they are licencing them to do?


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3 comments:

  1. Stephan Matthiesen28 January 2015 at 22:34

    That is surprising. In my own experience, and reading about others, it seems that in Edinburgh the licensing organisation is much more helpful. A while ago I reported the driver of a private hire minivan who seemed very distracted and erratic, edged forward into an ASL, so far that he almost touched pedestrians on a busy crossing. The licensing officer informed me that it wasn't registered in Edinburgh but he would pass it to Midlothian, and then a while I got a reply from Midlothian that they have spoken to the driver and he admitted he was distracted by the drunken party that he was transporting.

    Surely encroaching on an ASL is also a road traffic offence and not a licensing issue, but in my case they were willing to investigate, so this can't really be the reason. I was quite happy with their response: the driver got a warning, a reasonable outcome given the circumstances.

    Also, isn't it a licensind requirement that the driver is competent? So if there are questions about his competence and knowledge of road law, like clearly in your case, I would have assumed that should affect their license?


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  2. Roibeard29 January 2015 at 13:47

    I'd remind them of clause 14 of the driver's conditions, "The driver of a taxi... shall conduct himself in a proper and civil manner".

    I'd ask them to defend their decision that the aggression, ignorance and impatience displayed was proper and civil!

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  3. Anonymous2 February 2015 at 17:07

    This is a very different outcome to a recent complaint I made about a taxi licensed by South Lanarkshire Council.

    Following a dangerous incident in Glasgow I reported the driver and a couple of weeks later received a phone call telling me SLC take road safety very seriously. After asking a few questions the chap at the council told me they would be bringing the driver in to be interviewed. I was told this would not be a disciplinary as such, however, the incident would be recorded on their system which would be on file should there be any further incidents. Recording complaints on a permanent record or database seems like a sensible way to record if a driver is competent and whether a licence is extended or revoked.

    This response from Glasgow City Council licensing dept seems to reaffirm their reputation for chronic cronyism with the drivers they are meant to regulate.

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