Sunderland City Council is pushing ahead with a new taxi licencing policy to prevent dodgy cabbies from getting behind the wheel – despite a lukewarm response to a consultation.

It comes after the tragic death of teenager Sarah Jane Burke who was knocked down and killed by taxi driver David Baillie two years ago. He had been granted a taxi licence despite a horrendous driving record.

The authority launched a consultation with the private hire and hackney carriage trade earlier this year in a bid to bring current licence guidance up to date to reflect the full range of driving offences.
More than 1,200 licensees were contacted, with the results said in the cabinet report to be “broadly favourable”, although just 24 responses were received.

The report said some respondents even felt the document should be more stringent as to the amount of time that should elapse before someone gets their licence back following a conviction for a serious offence.
However, the report read: “Legally, the council may not adopt a policy of outright bans from licensing upon individuals holding certain types of conviction.”

“ Legally, the council may not adopt a policy of outright bans from licensing upon individuals holding certain types of conviction
Cabinet report
The report also stated: “An aspect of the draft guidance that did attract some negative comment, related to the recommendation that licensees receiving two or more convictions, for what the document describes as minor driving offences in a four year period, should have their licence suspended.”

These concerns, the report added, would be addressed by the council inviting the individual concerned to speak directly to committee members before a decision is made on its own merits.
No changes were deemed necessary following the consultation, and the draft guidance document has now been rubber-stamped by cabinet members and passed to the council’s regulatory committee for adoption.

The council was put under pressure to revise its policy on granting licences to people with driving convictions, after the death of Sarah.
Baillie, who was not driving a taxi at the time he struck the 17-year-old college student as she crossed Ormonde Street, near her home in Barnes, had been granted a licence by the authority despite having a lengthy record of driving convictions.
The decision was made by the council’s regulatory committee just days before the tragedy, despite Baillies horrendous record, which has included him serving time for motoring offences.

The new guidelines do not necessarily mean that someone like Baillie would have been denied the licence he obtained just days before he killed Sarah.

But it will mean that relevant convictions, including those classified as spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, and especially repeat offending, can be taken into account in determining where an applicant is “a fit and proper person”, with the overriding consideration being the protection of the public.

Baillie is also highly unlikely to ever be granted a licence again once he is out of jail, as someone causing death by dangerous driving, “will normally never be granted and any existing licence would be revoked” under the proposals. Although, the document adds that “exceptional circumstances” will be decided on “a case-by case basis”.

Baillie, 39, of Magdalene Place in Sunderland was found guilty of causing Sarah’s death by dangerous driving by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court in June last year. He was jailed for seven years and banned from driving for the same length of time.

The guidance document sets out minimum periods a person should be free of certain types of conviction in or to be considered “a fit and proper person” to drive a taxi. Members of the council’s regulatory committee will also have to consider the moral implications of their decision, by answering the question: “Would you, as a member of the committee charged with the ability to grant, suspend or revoke a hackney carriage or private hire driver’s licence, allow your son, daughter, spouse, partner, mother, father, grandson, granddaughter or any other vulnerable person for whom you care, to get into a vehicle with this person alone?”

‘People are still being killed on our roads’
Sarah’s dad Stephen expressed his disbelief at the time that her killer had been allowed to hold a taxi licence and spoke of his fear that Baillie could kill again if he is allowed back behind the wheel.

Mr Burke said: “How could he have been on the road? His barrister said people make mistakes, but how many mistakes can you make?

“He has been in prison before, banned before and taken the re-test before.

“As a family we have said he will get back on the roads, it is in his character.
“We feel he is going to be a danger again once he is allowed back on the roads.

“There has to be a deterrent now.
“ I am not just speaking for us as a family, I am speaking for everyone who has suffered and everyone who is going to suffer.

“People are being killed on the roads every day.
Road safety charity Brake said it welcomed any move to improve safety, especially among those driving professionally.

“As a charity that supports bereaved families and road crash victims, we welcome any measure that will ensure professional drivers are safe to be on our roads,” spokesman Dave Nichols said.
“We need to make sure drivers are clear that if they continually flout the law and put people’s lives in danger, they can no longer make a living from driving on our roads.

“Too many drivers are let off with grossly inadequate penalties for driving offences, which sends a message that these are minor infringements, rather than serious crimes that can result in needless suffering and loss of life.

“Through our crackdown campaign, we are calling for tougher charges and penalties for driving offences, including longer bans.”

http://www.national-taxi-association.co.uk/?p=9367
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Austria
 
 The flood of migrants may be causing a strain elsewhere in Europe, but taxi driver Mohammed, who earns as much as 450 euros ($500) a day driving refugees from the border to Vienna, is a happy man.

"I charge 150 euros to get to Vienna. It's a fixed rate no matter how many passengers there are," the smiling, Austrian-born 30-year-old tells AFP as awaits his next customers. "I do two or three trips per day."

"Before this all started, drivers would be lucky to earn 150 euros in a 12-hour shift in Vienna. I don't mind waiting sometimes five or six hours at a time because I know I will get a fare."

Here at the Nickelsdorf crossing point, a long line of between 130 and 140 taxis snakes back from the border, waiting for the next train to disgorge its latest cargo of people on the Hungarian side, who then walk across.

"It's been like this for a month. Word has gone round by word of month, phone and Facebook (among all the taxi drivers). Now all of Vienna is here," Mohammed quips as he enjoys a smoke.

Kevin, 23, is another contented taxi driver. He has a smart taxi van with eight seats, meaning he can charge more -- 170 euros -- for the 80-kilometre (50-mile) journey to one of Vienna's main train stations.

Unlike most of the others with Vienna number plates, Kevin is actually from Nickelsdorf. Before large numbers of migrants started arriving a few weeks ago, he only used to bother doing taxi work at weekends.

"I've been coming here for about three weeks and drive as much as possible," he tells AFP through the window as he too passes the time smoking a cigarette. "Business is good... And I think it will continue for a while."

- 'They have money' -

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/austrian-taxi-drivers-fare-well-migrant-crisis-053637361.html#dTKel2A
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 BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Hundreds of taxi drivers jammed the centre of Slovakia's capital on Monday in the latest demonstration in Europe against popular ride-hailing service Uber.

Taxis drove slowly across the bridge over the Danube river into Bratislava's historical centre as drivers called on authorities to act against the popular app that launched in the central European country in August.

The head of the Bratislava taxi drivers' union Ondrej Wenzl said 500 drivers had taken part in the protest. Local media said there were around 200.

Wenzl said Uber drivers were not operating according to the same rules that govern licensed taxi drivers.

Slovak officials said the government has informed Uber that its drivers must operate with the proper documentation or face penalties that could include fines of up to 40,000 euros.

Since launching in Europe four years ago, U.S. start-up Uber has drawn the ire of traditional taxi drivers and has been hit with court injunctions in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain for violating taxi licensing rules.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/slovak-taxi-drivers-protest-against-uber-190224737.html