TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE
I am a New York City cab driver and have heard that it is legal for a NY
cab driver who is given a ticket for a moving violation, to actually get two tickets - one
regular police ticket and one from the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). You have to go
to two different courts and if you are found guilty, you are fined twice for the same
violation. I heard a driver interviewed on the radio today who said that he had to go to
two different hearings; he was found not guilty at one and guilty at the other! Is London
any different?
Arnold Lindenbaum
Rockaway, New York
If you break a traffic regulation in the UK, you are subject to a court appearance and appropriate punishment ie fine, licence endorsement or both. If you are a licensed London taxi driver, the PCO can - if they wish but not automatically - call you in to their hallowed halls to decide whether you are still a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold a taxi licence in addition to any court punishment. However, the PCO have no authority to fine any driver. Any punishment would be in the form of a warning or suspension of the licence…Ed
PRIZE WINNER
Thanks for my £50 prize in the ‘Customer Questionnaire’
hand-out. It will come in useful as money certainly doesn’t grow on trees. Mind you,
since the seemingly mindless destruction of the Brazilian rain forests, not much else does
either!
David Kupler (Y74)
DOUBLE-DUTCH
I contacted you in September 1997 with the hope that the story of my
gratitude with regard to my lost property left in a London taxi would be published in Call
Sign. As a journalist of the VNU-newspapers in The Netherlands, I think it is a good story
especially for your cab drivers magazine. It is also a very curious story and in all
respects very much in favour of London taxi drivers. As far as I can see via the Internet,
the story hasn’t been published so far in your magazine. I hope that you can still do
so in one of your forthcoming issues.
Dick Verstegen
The Netherlands
The letter you are referring to was published in the June issue of Call sign. I have put a copy into the post for you…Ed
LETS THROW SOME BACK..
On many occasions I have met and heard of drivers who, when returning
to their cab after visiting the toilet, find that they have a parking ticket. It’s
happened to me. Should you send a letter to give a reason why you parked, the reply would
be two pages of words followed by how to pay them the money! I even know of someone who
was threatened if he left his cab to make a visit to the loo. Had he known the law on
human rights, that particular traffic warden could have been taken to court. I ask you;
where on earth would they tolerate this type of discrimination? Should they try this
business with the French cab drivers, there would be a second revolution!
Mark my words, they will introduce new laws and bring out new devices where
the slightest infringement would give them reason to steal your money.
You would be out there not so much concentrating on your
work, but on how not to get caught! A definite guarantee to raise your stress level. You
may ask what can you do about it and answer by saying nothing. But there is something we
can do: We can fight them. We can try to paralyse their system, it would be simple,
inexpensive and lawful. All we have to do is write and keep on writing, letters of
complaint for them to stop this harassment. Just imagine the thousands of letters going
through their letter box. They will just not be able to cope. I would like to add that
over the years, our fight against the elements has not been very successful. Whatever they
have thrown at us we seem to accept. If my idea takes off, we may be able to throw some
back.
Our main big issue with them is the instant parking penalty. It is wrong,
unfair and totally out of order. So we must act now or face a bleak future. So lets get
writing to them at:
PO Box 240
Westminster City Hall
64 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QP
H.Murray (K34)
It must certainly be worth a try Harry, however, it could be that a pre-printed standard letter that drivers just need to sign could be a better option. If it was just a matter of signing and posting it, it might get a better response than asking drivers to pen their own letters. What do you think Harry and what do other drivers think?…Ed
