Stand up and be counted.

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Driving a taxi is done with an ordinary driving licence, nothing more special than that, and that can hardly be called a stringent test.
They must've changed the law then. You used to need either a private hire license or public service vehicle license. Both required frequent retests.
 

Bazzer

Setting the controls for the heart of the sun.
They must've changed the law then. You used to need either a private hire license or public service vehicle license. Both required frequent retests.

Certainly in Salford, where I have the most interactions with private hire drivers, (who quite frankly are sh1te) so far as I am aware, an ordinary driving licence is all that is required. Admittedly a potential applicant undergoes some assessments, but I am unaware of any of these demonstrating driving skills or competencies.
 
I'm going to confess my lack of understanding of the law here. I've just watched a video on YouTube. At just over 2 minutes in, some cyclists are in the bus lane, as I believe they are allowed to be, when a car that has been indicating for several seconds turns into the bus lane to cross it to gain access to the petrol station. Cyclists and car driver then do an awkward sort of dance as nobody seems sure who is right, all while the self righteous motorcyclist who has just nearly ranked a cyclist criticises.

So at 2 minutes in, who has the right of way? I genuinely am unsure.


View: https://youtu.be/nYOz86G_oYU
 

glasgowcyclist

Charming but somewhat feckless
Location
Scotland
They must've changed the law then. You used to need either a private hire license or public service vehicle license. Both required frequent retests.

The private hire licence is issued by the local council after background checks to establish you are a fit and proper person to operate a taxi, it is in no way related to an assessment of the holder's driving ability.
 
The private hire licence is issued by the local council after background checks to establish you are a fit and proper person to operate a taxi, it is in no way related to an assessment of the holder's driving ability.
Must've changed. Mind I'm going back a lot of years. In fact probably getting on for 40 years when I think about it. How time flies. But anyway, i remember my dad being a commercial driver, and I remember he and his fellow driver buddies used to regular talk about their annual tests. It was definitely an extra driving test, because I remember my dad joking about the stupid questions the examiner used to ask while being driven around town for half an hour.
 

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
The private hire licence is issued by the local council after background checks to establish you are a fit and proper person to operate a taxi, it is in no way related to an assessment of the holder's driving ability.
Whether you need a driving and/or medical test in addition to the "fit and proper person" thing appears to be a local council choice...
https://www.gov.uk/taxi-driver-licence
I don't think they're needed where I am.
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I'm going to confess my lack of understanding of the law here. I've just watched a video on YouTube. At just over 2 minutes in, some cyclists are in the bus lane, as I believe they are allowed to be, when a car that has been indicating for several seconds turns into the bus lane to cross it to gain access to the petrol station. Cyclists and car driver then do an awkward sort of dance as nobody seems sure who is right, all while the self righteous motorcyclist who has just nearly ranked a cyclist criticises.

So at 2 minutes in, who has the right of way? I genuinely am unsure.


View: https://youtu.be/nYOz86G_oYU


What is the motorcyclist doing sitting in the bus lane?
 
What is the motorcyclist doing sitting in the bus lane?
Dunno. He is wrong at several points. I think I might have said that earlier. We can moan about the many displays of knobbery throughout the video, but that's kind of going over old ground. What I'd be interested to know though, not for pointing the finger of self righteous blame, but to minimise the risks if ever I find myself in a similar situation, is what are the rules in the situation we see at approx 2 mins and 5 seconds in.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
What is the motorcyclist doing sitting in the bus lane?
Bus lane appears to be marked to allow motorcycles on the signs, but it's not 100% clear on my screen (edit: there are two blobs under the bus, the left one much heavier, which I think is m/cycle cycle in Diagram 958, rather than cycle taxi on the same line, which I'd expect to appear as blob and boxy shade - the boxy shade which I think is "taxi" is below it).

As for the car turning across the lane into the filling station, motorist is wrong, failing to give way to those in the bus lane http://highwaycode.info/rule/183 but that's little comfort to anyone knocked off.

And for all his words about anticipation, the motorcyclist seems to be close passing at speed with less caution than I'd like!
 
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snorri

snorri

Legendary Member
Stand up and be counted? I have no choice but to stand up on our overcrowded trains.
This thread has wandered off and on topic but the call to Stand and be Counted was to cyclists on the forum whose aggressive behaviour towards motorists has led to cyclists being described as a "worry" on a league table drawn up by an obscure road safety group.
No one in the five pages of the thread has admitted to such behaviour, which is quite astonishing as I'm sure motorists would not complain about cyclists without good reason:whistle:.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
This thread has wandered off and on topic but the call to Stand and be Counted was to cyclists on the forum whose aggressive behaviour towards motorists has led to cyclists being described as a "worry" on a league table drawn up by an obscure road safety group.
No one in the five pages of the thread has admitted to such behaviour, which is quite astonishing
as I'm sure motorists would not complain about cyclists without good reason:whistle:.
I admitted to it!
 
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