Mini-taxis!
On the local TV news, it was reported that a taxi company were refusing to take passengers to the NW10 area of London. This blatantly misleads the public into believing they are reporting on the licensed Taxi trade. If you look in the Oxford Dictionary, it gives the meaning of taxi as a motor-cab plying for hire and fitted with taximeter. I do not think that Private Hire companies – in this case Addison Lee - ply for hire on London’s streets and carry a meter authorised by the Public Carriage Office!
   This is why whenever a PH driver assaults, rapes or overcharges a passenger the public are led to believe it is a licensed taxi driver. I think it’s about time the media were taken to task, as it is our good name that they are tarnishing. I’m not saying that every licensed taxi driver is an angel, but we don’t need non- registered fly-by-night drivers adding to our problems.
   Speaking of PH, have you noticed the disgusting way many of the non-English private hire drivers are allowed to break the law without penalties? The other morning as I was travelling north along Canonbury Park North at speeds between 20 and 30 mph (due to the road humps and width restricting bollards), a PH vehicle went on the wrong side of the road through the restricted road width gap as though this was the legal thing to do. He then proceeded to drive through a red stop sign at the junction of Islington Park Street and Liverpool Road.
   I’ve also read of a driver from one of the ‘Slav countries running down and killing someone. He admitted going back to his own country to gain a driving licence because it was easier and no doubt open to corruption.
   Any person coming to this

country and staying for longer than three months should take an
English driving test if he intends driving. Anyone staying over three months is not on holiday - they are living here. By making them take the English driving test, it would make sure they know the rules of the road in England and that they could read English. Anyone who acts as a substitute for the person needing to take the test in an attempt to fool the authorities should get a standard 5-year jail sentence. If they are aliens to the UK, they should be deported.
   Some may think I am racist, but you could not be more wrong. I have many West Indian, African and Asian friends who all agree with me that it’s the illegal immigrants pouring into the country who cause more racial tension due to their flagrant abuse of the law.

Tom and the number 38 bendy bus!
I wrote some time ago about drivers of the number 38 bendy buses completely ignoring red traffic lights; well I can report that nothing has changed. If I ever witness an accident involving one of these buses, I would willingly be a witness for the other driver. These imbeciles take the front of their bus over red (ATS) stop signals without a care that they are dragging another 50 odd feet of vehicle - often packed with men, women and children - behind them and possibly into the path of a 40-foot fully laden juggernaut.
   It’s obvious that those in charge of cameras monitoring vehicles have been instructed to ignore buses breaking the law; otherwise there would be lack of drivers for the 38 and others.

Calling 999
In the last week, 2 drivers have related stories to me of being attacked during the course of their work. Both said they dialled 999 and were told by the operator that although the assailants had knives, which they were prepared to use, it was not an emergency. That reply to those trying to gain assistance for a serious emergency is becoming more and more frequent. So what happens now is that people fail to report crimes as they know they will gain no help from the police service for which we pay such a high price. Then you get politicians or police officers giving figures to show that crime is on the decline. Also see the article in this issue on a DaC break-in.
   If you have a burglary, mugging, assault or your taxi is broken into and you want assistance from the police, start by saying that the assailant has made racist remarks against you. You will then get 6 police cars, 2 riot wagons and 4 PCSOs (plastic policemen) turn up. I do not say this in a jovial manner, it happened in the area of Hackney where I live.
   As I said earlier, I have many non-English friends and they tell 

me they’ve learnt that if you want
an immediate response, that is
what you have to do. What they should do is make the senior 
officer in charge of the civilian 999 operators go back on the beat for a full complete month every 3 months. Whilst they are hidden in the safety of the call centre drinking tea, they are losing the plot on what’s really happening in boroughs such as Hackney and Brent.

DaC with the War Disabled…
The other week I was honoured and privileged to represent Dial-a-Cab at the War Disabled outing to
Worthing. To meet so many men and women who put their lives on the line to keep this land a free place to live, made me feel humble. These people are heroes, people who go out knowing that someone is hell bent on blowing their head off so that they can come and dominate your country.
   As I sat thinking of the millions of lives that were lost in two world wars, I wondered what the point of it all was when the last few Prime Ministers have given this country over to the Germans without a shot being fired. The
brave soldiers I was sitting with never realised that 60 years after their war, this country would be invaded not just by those they’d been fighting, but also some lying that their life was in danger by a tin pot war in their homeland. These liars are protected by so-called PC correct activists who have never fought in a war, but are happy to take any ‘freebies’ that have been achieved. Most of these PC correct people walk around in their polo necks, cheap hairy skirts or corduroy trousers and sandals showing dirty toe nails. If they want to do something worthwhile, they should support the Ghurkhas in their fight for the correct pension they should be getting. These are the bravest and most feared soldiers in the world, who did not hesitate to give their lives defending our country.
   But this country would rather spend millions of pounds on illegal immigrants who take, but give nothing in return to enhance to living conditions of this country. Yet the brave Ghurkhas gave the ultimate sacrifice for this country - their lives - and we do not seem to appreciate it.
   Many months ago I purchased an armband from The Sun to support Help for Heroes and I am proud to wear it - as any driver who has attended Roman Way will tell you. If you would like to help our soldiers, then purchase the armband from The Sun. Halfords also sell them.
   Before our Editor, young Mr Fisher, adds a rider onto this article, I would like to say these are my views and only my views. Before anyone says I shouldn’t use Call Sign as a soapbox for my views, they all originate from items involving the licensed Taxi trade. I do not write articles that belittle other licensed London Taxi organisations, giving the authorities a lever to split and divide our trade. That only allows the authorities to take advantage of the trade, as we do not stick together as a solid group with huge voting power.

Tom Whitbread
DaC Roman Way Manager