|
End of another year…
Well, that’s Christmas done for another year – a year I personally
would rather forget following Linda’s heart by-pass surgery just weeks after
we moved home. It has ended with me being unable to work due to a mysterious
infection that has turned my leg – from ankle to knee – a nasty shade of
crimson in addition to it being covered in lumps and bumps. At times it has
been so painful that I couldn’t stand up on it let alone try to work – which
at the time of writing I haven’t for over a week. I’m on seven antibiotics a
day, which are knocking me for six to such a degree that I awoke one night
in a sweat having dreamed I had become an Arsenal supporter and that my leg
was supposed to be red in order to match the player’s shirts!
And then when awake, I suddenly realise that the New Year issue of
Call Sign has to be produced in one week less than usual as
the printers – unlike we cab drivers – don’t work for the ten days following
Christmas Eve! It isn’t so much the production side, but the fact that I
couldn’t get out to see drivers – the only way that Call Sign
operates. As a result I know very little, begging the question of how to
fill up this page, let alone the rest of the magazine!
But we’ll have a go…
PCN result!
PCN expert Barrie Segal works for Dial-a-Cab and in doing so
has literally slashed the amount of money this Society was paying out in
PCNs each year.
Barrie recently attended a case at London’s High Court that
answered the question of when a radio taxi (yes, or radio minicab) was
considered to have been legally hired and from which moment should that
allow him to wait on London’s "no parking" streets?
The decision would have far-reaching effects for Dial-a-Cab and
radio circuits in general, but the end result turned out to be very
satisfying and you can read Barrie’s report inside this issue. It adds to
the precedent set and reported on in the September Call Sign
when Dial-a-Cab driver, Monty Dobrin (B56), was issued with a PCN in
W2 while stopping to read his trip offer as the sun shining onto his
terminal stopped him seeing what the offer was. So he briefly pulled over,
accepted the trip, wrote down the details and moved off again. Westminster
Council claimed he should have looked for a meter, whereas the Arbitrator
accepted that would not be possible in the 60 seconds given. More
importantly, he set a precedent by saying that the trip offer was part of
the trip.
Now another cab parking case – this time at the High Court itself -
and the question of what was the necessary time needed for a cab driver to
pick-up a passenger when they receive a pre-booked trip? The basics of a
radio job are that the driver arrives, looks for his passenger, the
passenger comes out from their premises, finds the cab and enters it. What
if the passenger isn’t quite ready yet or asks you to |
wait for a second passenger
or even wants to scrub the trip? It all takes time and during that period
the driver can only wait.
But when a High Court Judge comes out and says the time taken
looking for the passenger or waiting for the passenger to find their cab, is
all a necessary part of the process of picking up - and that accordingly any
parking tickets issued in those circumstances must be cancelled – I think we
can claim that we’re really getting somewhere.
On the same topic, you can also read inside this issue about the
PCNs issued to Dial-a-Cab driver Dave Raymond (F56), who
unsurprisingly is rather fed up of receiving constant PCNs for brief stops.
Dave happens to be diabetic, treated by tablets and he does occasionally
have a need to get to a loo pretty quickly. Very often, that leads to a
Penalty Charge Notice.
But things do seem to be changing – especially so far as radio
trips are concerned. So even more importantly now, if you get a PCN whilst
involved in a DaC trip, DON’T PAY IT! Just drop it into Nuala’s office in
Driver’s Services. If you receive correspondence regarding a PCN, also get
that to Nuala asap.
As for Dave Raymond, Westminster Council place great store on their
disabled TaxiCard – and indeed they deserve great praise for their
constant support of the scheme - yet they penalise diabetics such as Dave
whose only crime is that they may need to "go" at shorter notice than the
rest of us…
It could be that at long last, the London radio taxi trade is
starting to win a few points over those councils who would rather earn money
out of us than allow us to do what our job entails – provide a service to
the public…
DaC long service appreciation
ceremonies
The latest batch of long service recognition ceremonies for
Dial-a-Cab staff took place in mid-December and a report is inside this
issue. This was the third such ceremony of 2010 and from what Call
Sign has been told, the DaC staff at whom they are aimed have been
delighted to be a part of the process.
The idea originated from DaC’s Human Resources Department,
where Manager John Rogers and assistant Dionne Bennett queried
why an organisation with staff who seem to stay far longer than the average
of other companies, were not recognised? The answer was as simple as that no
one had ever suggested it.
The occasional staff member reaching 25 years has always been
celebrated, but John and Dee are right in saying that nowadays ten years is
also worth celebrating. There were several ten and fifteen years
celebrations this month and although the staff involved do not receive
anything that will change their lives, they get an enjoyable |
reception in the Board room where
food and drink flow, a certificate stating how many years they have been
with the Society, but perhaps more importantly, the knowledge that their
loyalty to this company is appreciated.
Mickey’s amazing success
What more can I say about Mickey Gordelier (ex-L27) other
than he makes me feel humble.
Together with Ken Freeborn (W06) and three other drivers who
are sadly no longer with us, I worked for six years at St Josephs Hospice in
Mare Street during the formation years of what turned into the Macmillan
Cancer Support, so yes, I know a bit about what it’s like in a hospice.
Sadly, even without checking I know that many of our drivers will have had
personal experience via a family member or close friend, of what life in a
hospice involves.
Mickey was with DaC for over 20 years and says he enjoyed every
minute. He enjoyed a great life and into his 50s, was now appreciating some
of the benefits that you don’t get in the early years when starting out.
I doubt that many of us can begin to imagine how Mickey and wife
Sue must have felt when given the devastating news that he had Motor
Neurone Disease, a condition that affects voluntary control
of muscle activity including walking, breathing, even swallowing and
speaking. Mickey was then told he probably had a maximum lifespan of
3 years left in front of him and that time period could even be as short as
12 months.
When he wrote to Call Sign in our October
issue – via a nurse as he can no longer control his arms - explaining that
he wanted to thank Greenwich & Bexley Cottage Hospice in Abbey Wood, where
he is a patient, by launching an appeal to raise £30,000 to pay for an extra
nurse, we were of course happy to publicise the cause, which also runs
online.
The Hospice care is free of charge, but someone, somewhere has to
stump up some dosh and sadly, appeals such as Mick’s are the only way these
amazing institutions have to raise most of their funding. Mick, who has
never been afraid to utter the occasional word about any topic when it was
needed, has now also put that ability onto a very moving appeal on the
Hospice’s website. If you feel you might like to help Mick, then details are
with the article inside this issue. Mick’s appeal is now over two thirds
towards its’ £30,000 target having already raised in excess of £20K.
Anything I say is going to sound trite, but Mick, we raise our hats to you!
But going back to my time at St Joseph’s, I came into contact with
many hundreds of patients from 7-year old Sarah to a pair of 90-year olds.
Over that period I saw two recoveries that had the medical staff baffled.
They would never use the word miracle, but something amazing happened. You
now know what I wish for you, Mick…
Alan Fisher
callsignmag@aol.com |
