Smokefree

Well we have it in black and white now, we have all received letters from the local council regarding the smoke free legislation which comes into force on the 1st July. A lot of taxi drivers have been under the impression that they only have to stop smoking when they are actually working or have a fare on board. This letter makes it clear that even when using the cab as a private car or as a family vehicle the regulations and a £50 fixed penalty apply. They also tell us that it will be an offence not to display a no smoking sign and that it must be a minimum of 70mm in diameter, failure to do so and we get a £200 fixed penalty. Oh and they took the opportunity to remind us not to drop fag ends outside or that's a £75 fixed penalty. Some folk might be forgiven for beginning to wonder if this could be turning into a nice little earner for the council. But they do tell us that their is an exception to the rules, the letter states "Vehicles will not need to be smoke free when they have a removable roof during the time the roof is completely removed" So there you go guys just cut the taxi roof off and you can chuff away to your hearts content.