CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh

Reporting poor taxi driving

(8 posts)
  • Started 13 years ago by earthowned
  • Latest reply from MeepMeep

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  1. earthowned
    Member

    Has anyone else on this forum reported bad driving by taxis?

    I took a cab last week where the driver almost took out a cyclist. Approaching a junction the taxi pulled out into the road without adequately looking forcing a cyclist to take evasive action by pulling into the centre of the road.

    The cyclist was wearing a Hi Viz jacket and the conditions were good. Poor guy looked angry and confused whilst the taxi waved a pathetic SMIDSY apology.

    I've submitted a written complaint to the licensing folks and received a response saying it will be investigated however I'm not sure what the outcome will be. Am I being a busybody by complaining or have I done the right thing here?

    Posted 13 years ago #

  2. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    It's the right thing to do - the cabbie may have a history of poor driving etc etc etc. I've only tried reporting someone once, and have to say it went absolutely nowhere. Not even a response saying they'd received my complaint!

    Posted 13 years ago #

  3. MeepMeep
    Member

    I had a different experience. I received a written response advising me that they had received my complaint and had passed it to the relevant department for investigation. I thought "aye, right" and put it out of mind.

    Three weeks later I had another letter saying the driver had been disciplined and the incident marked on his licence.

    I'm very rarely in a taxi (perhaps one every couple of years or so) but I think if I was and the driver behaved that way, I'd certainly say something directly at the time. And if they didn't respond appropriately, I'd get out, refusing to pay the fare and report their behaviour (I don't know where I stand on the refusal to pay a fare though).

    Posted 13 years ago #

  4. earthowned
    Member

    We'll see what happens during the investigation. My own take on it was that the driver was tired and made a poor decision but I don't know for sure.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  5. earthowned
    Member

    And here is the response:

    "I refer to your complaint regarding the conduct of a taxi driver licensed by the City of Edinburgh Council.

    I write to advise you that the driver has been interviewed by Inspector Smith at the Taxi Examination Centre. The driver states that he was driving a new Mercedes Benz Taxi and was not familiar with it. He recalls pulling out onto a junction and admits he had not seen the cyclist until the last minute at which point he had then stopped. He accepts he should have been more careful but no accident occurred. He denies jumping any red lights and confirmed that he was not particularly tired as he had just started his shift.

    This incident will be retained on the driver’s licence record and referred to in the future should he come to our attention again.

    I would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. It is only through feedback that standards of service may be improved."

    Posted 13 years ago #

  6. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Interesting. In one respect, good, it will be on his record, so they'll be able to see if there are any more incidents which can have cumulative effect; on the other hand they seem to think that being 'unfamiliar' with the vehicle is actually a legitimate excuse for not looking properly...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  7. earthowned
    Member

    At the very least the driver will hopefully take more care when out and about now that he knows that people will report poor driving.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  8. MeepMeep
    Member

    It's interesting that you got such a detailed response. When I reported my last taxi run-in to the council, I deliberately didn't speculate as to the reason the driver knowingly tried to knock me off and trap my between his vehicle and parked cars. I didn't get any sort of reasoning in my written response.

    I'm glad they directly addressed your speculative points (if indeed you had raised them in your complaint). Perhaps doing so as you were a paying client rather than another party on the road?

    Posted 13 years ago #

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