Mail Board for the Bored

This little lot I found on the local Evening Mail message board my reply is at the bottom, funny thing is that I think maybe this may have been started by one of the reporters just to see what is stirred up.

"oh, how we all laugh at the weekly Evening mail column known as Taxi Tales, where one of Barrows finest (sic) taxi drivers ridicules the people who pay his wages."

"Here's a few questions for him, why do Taxi drivers stop in the middle of the street,(completely blocking it) when parking places are often available, why do they let people sit in the back with children on their knees(illegally), why do they double park in cornwallis street (so they can chat to each other without getting out of their car) why do they beep their horn(also illegal) to alert the passenger they have arrived,even in the early hours?"

"Are taxi drivers above the laws that other drivers are expected to follow?"

"Professional drivers, don't make me laugh!"

"All is not lost however because I once saw a taxi double parked outside the post office on Lesh Lane when there was loads of places to park only a few feet in front of him, what he did'nt reckon on was the police car that pulled up behind him."

"These taxi drivers think they are a law to themselves, sudden u-turns in the road, parking on Abbey Road outside of the Railway facing on-coming traffic !!!, I once saw one turn into Dalton Road from Abbey Road !!, only one headlight working, etc etc etc"

"Or © trying to get a good nights sleep when some cretin starts sounding his horn across the street because someone at a party has called a Taxi at 3.00 A.M. if"
"Or (D) wondering why it's one law for the ordinary driver and another for the taxi driver."

My Reply
Hit the nail on the head there "why do the parents do it" it's a parents responsibility morally, but by law after the age of three and up to age 16 the driver has to see that the child is safely strapped in. As for parking well if you order a taxi you would want it outside and not have to go looking for it down the street wouldn't you . A lot of folk we pick up are disabled and need door to door service would you have us throw the poor granny out half a mile away from home?. Headlight out don,t think so pal taxis are by law amongst the most regularly tested and inspected vehicles on the road. Most local firms have callback nowadays and so the horn blowing is a thing of the past. As with any group we have the good and we have the bad but remember one thing if you drive badly for too long you won't last too long driving a taxi. Insurance premiums start at £2000 per year but rise rapidly if you have accidents