Call Sign March 2007 - Page 14 - ROAD RAGE: DO DAC DRIVERS GET IT?

A recent survey of over 1000 motorists by breakdown specialist, Green Flag, has come to the startling conclusion that road rage affects eight in ten drivers, with one third admitting being affected by road rage at least once a week and sometimes more. Road works, traffic jams and the general pace of everyday living puts people under all sorts of pressure in which even the normally calm, slow to anger individual can snap! There cannot be a DaC driver who has not experienced the irate I‘ll miss my train /plane / meeting passenger! With our usual professionalism, the DaC driver can smooth the situation with diplomacy and safe driving around the busy streets of London by being seen to make every effort to get the passenger to their destination on time. In a home environment, it is called domestic violence, but out there on the streets the irate motorists’ antics are referred to as road rage. We asked DaC drivers for their views… Guy Gaunt (H24): "Yes, I should think every taxi driver has experienced road rage in some form or another but I’m not the type to hit back, I’m too small! I might keep parallel to them on the road or not let them out, that sort of thing." Bernie Silver (G8): "It happens all the time, but I just ignore it and go about my own business otherwise I’d end up with a heart attack and that isn’t very smart at all!"	ROAD RAGE: DO DAC DRIVERS GET IT?
	Theodore Cassano (G86): "People cut me up or force their way out of side roads, but I don’t take any notice. If they are violent I drive off and leave them alone, or maybe I’m tempted to take the number and mention it to my Sicilian ‘friends’ back in Italy…! Paul Churchill (A4): "I have been driving a cab for 10 years now and yes, it does crop up from time to time. But the best thing is to just let it ride over you, otherwise you’d have a heart attack by the time you’re 40 - and I’m 35 now! I was once attacked while in a car by a lunatic wielding a wheel-brace, but thankfully it has not happened while driving a cab." Terry Hatt (J88): "Thankfully, I’ve never been assaulted, only the odd ‘V’ sign or verbal abuse. You see so much of it all the time that you have to learn to keep quiet and stay calm. Just ignore the idiots and stay cool." Simon Wallis (M11):	"Yes, it was about two years ago. A courier pedal cyclist flew out from a side street right across the cab. I beeped him as a warning that I had almost hit him. He had a huge security chain, the sort of thing people use to lock motor cycles and he swung it at my door mirror, breaking the mirror and base from the cab door. I chased after him, but didn’t catch him due to the heavy traffic. It cost me £170 to get the mirror repaired. Yes, I know about road rage all right…" Alan Green (E52): "Road rage? Where do I start? We see it all the time between motorists, but cab drivers do not usually rise to the bait. Wise… I do recall some years ago though, I was following an erratically driven car through Regents Park. There was traffic behind me and I was concerned at being shunted in the rear myself as every time the plonker in front touched the brakes, I had to respond. So when the opportunity arose, I roared past the idiot and gratefully thought I’d seen the last of him. When I stopped at the Gloucester Gate traffic lights, I was shocked to see a fist banging violently on my driver’s window. It was the lunatic that I had earlier overtaken! He was red-faced and screaming with rage, repeatedly thumping the window and swearing at me. The few seconds at that red stop light seemed like an hour. His last words to me as I moved away on the green light were ‘I’ll meet you again in a dark alley sometime’. Incredibly, this moron had a young child in the passenger seat, so goodness knows what sort of message that sent to the child. I later reported the incident to my local police station. The incident also proved testimony to the strength of LTI glass!" © Call Sign Magazine MM7

TAXI FARES INCREASE

Taxi fares are to increase by 3.2 per cent on 14 April, sending the price of a so-called average fare jumping 32p from £10.25 to £10.57 with Rate 3 seeing an average increase of around 40p on the current £12.57 night-time average.
   The minimum fare remains at £2.20, which includes the 20p environmental charge introduced three years ago to encourage drivers to fit systems that meet the new green emissions guidelines. The fare will continue to rise in 20p units.
   The additional £2 levy, which is added to journeys from Heathrow airport to destinations in greater London, will now also apply to journeys outside of the 33 boroughs. In addition, TfL is also making it easier to share a cab from Wimbledon tennis championships, just as is done at Paddington station and Buckingham Palace garden parties.
   Ed Thompson, Director of Taxi and Private Hire at the PCO, said: "These new taxi fare levels take into account the growing costs of running a black cab. Taxi drivers are self employed, meaning they earn less if operating costs increase."
Mr Thompson added that the increase would mean London taxis continue to offer good value for money.
   It is now compulsory to issue a receipt if required.
   The latest TfL figures show that there are 24,678 licensed taxi drivers in London…

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