Wirral taxi drivers face more medical checks to ensure they're up to the job

11:35am Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News

Wirral taxi drivers face more medical checks to ensure they're up to the job Wirral taxi drivers face more medical checks to ensure they're up to the job

TAXI drivers could be obliged to undergo a five-yearly medical examination under new rules being considered by Wirral Council.

At present, a driver is required to have an initial medical test to ensure they are physically fit - along with other background checks - before being granted a permit.

Currently, llicensed Hackney and private-hire drivers in the borough do not have to have a further medical examination until they reach the age of 65, after which they are required annually on renewal of the licence.

Members of the council's health and safety committee next week will be asked to review these arrangements then instruct officers to carry out consultation with drivers on a range of options for revised checks.

They include demanding checks annually; every three years or every five years after a driver reaches the age of 45.

A change of rules could bring Wirral's policy inline with other Merseyside councils.

Most authorities in the county ask for five-yearly medicals up to the age of 65 and then annually.

Fees charged by GPs for medical examinations are typically between £100 and £140.

The consultation will take place over six weeks and the results reported to a future meeting of the committee.

Comments(25)

davypicko says...
12:09pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Just what they need..More expense when most of them a barely scraping a living anyway. A lot of these men have to work 4 or 5 days just to pay their overheads. People think they just drive around and have pots of money...Far from it.I am glad I'm out of it now.

Report this post »

PaulCa says...
12:10pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Don't want them dropping dead whilst ferrying important local dignitaries, who happen to be regular customers.

Our Wirral VIPs want to be able to stay alive, in order to claim back from us the public, the personal cash they've expended on these rides.

Report this post »

LUSTYCOURTIER says...
2:27pm Wed 13 Mar 13

how about attitude checks as well?

Report this post »

frank h says...
2:36pm Wed 13 Mar 13

am ok with that as long as other WBC employees also go through the same medical tests, and they have to pay for the privilege. how about a decent minimum fare so that PH and hackney drivers dont have to work 60 hours a week which i think contributes more to ill health

Report this post »

frank h says...
2:45pm Wed 13 Mar 13

ever thought the result of stress from trying to earn a decent living and not a bad back may be an issue and when are we supposed to get the time to exercise typical thick council officers living in their ivory towers with nothing to do

Report this post »

djrimmer says...
2:55pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Dont know about medical tests but they are the only "professional" drivers on the road who do not have to pass a specific driving test.....its about time they did.

Report this post »

Heycock says...
5:16pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Before the council forces more expense on drivers (and do WBC employees have to pay for their own medicals or CRB's? No.), do they have any specific cause to think taxi drivers' health is a problem for the safety of their passengers? If drivers have a problem with their health it's probably due to having to work 70 hours a week at less than minimum wage. The first 40 hours merely cover overheads.
I gave up PH in October to look after my wife. I did PH for 21 years...20 years too long. I wouldn't wish a stint in the business on my worst enemy.

Report this post »

Heycock says...
5:32pm Wed 13 Mar 13

djrimmer. Don't talk rot. Apart from HGV drivers who else has a separate test? Couriers, hearse drivers, delivery drivers, Formula 1 drivers? Police drivers even? Er...no. The insurance industry say that the average driver has a bump every 25000 miles. That would mean taxi drivers having between 1 and 2 accidents a year. The fact they don't tells me they are better drivers than the average man/woman.

Report this post »

Positive thinker says...
6:49pm Wed 13 Mar 13

How about teaching them the difference between 5 minutes and 25 minutes

Report this post »

Heycock says...
7:04pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Positive thinker wrote:
How about teaching them the difference between 5 minutes and 25 minutes
How about teaching passengers to allow more than 10 minutes to get to Lime Street and not demand the driver put his foot down in the tunnel.
And it's the operator, not the driver who gives the pickup times. Regular users of taxis know the score. It's the ones who use taxis once a year who make most of the complaints.

Report this post »

frank h says...
7:30pm Wed 13 Mar 13

djrimmer before you make comments you need to get your facts right the reason why we are professional drivers is that we have to do a knowledge test, then carry out a btec then when we pass these we have to carry out a an NVQ also if we get reported to L.A. we can be taken before a panel and have our taxi license suspended or revoked try being a taxi driver dj tats if you can get the qualification

Report this post »

Heycock says...
9:21pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Positive thinker wrote:
Heylittlecock,

You've got a bat attitude
Assuming you mean "bad", how so? Thinking about it, I probably have...having had 20 years of dealing with half-wits like you. Try pressing enter just once or get your keyboard fixed.

Report this post »

Positive thinker says...
9:31pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Good job you're on the ball Littlecock,I stand corrected

Report this post »

Mr Bollo says...
1:06pm Thu 14 Mar 13

How about teaching them the difference between indicators and hazard lights for starters? Or that a car horn is not meant for letting your fare know that you are outside their house? Or just generally getting them to follow the rules of the road in general.

Professional drivers indeed - yeah right.

Report this post »

pooboy says...
2:25pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Positive Thinker?

More than a Negative FOOL.

Report this post »

frank h says...
4:07pm Thu 14 Mar 13

mr bollo how about u and others being ready when you phone a taxi rather than phone a taxi then do other things keeping the taxi outside see u dont use taxi's that much as we have a facility call back then you more than likely ignore that facility

Report this post »

Heycock says...
5:19pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Taxis hooting is MOSTLY a thing of the past. As Frank says, drivers don't need to. These are rough figures but 80% of Wirral PH drivers and 50% of Hacks belong to the big 3 firms and all use what's called call-back where as the taxi is nearing the job, a phonecall is automatically generated to the phone making the taxi request to say the taxi is outside.

Report this post »

bickyboy says...
10:01pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Back in the mid 70s, before private hire cabs were subject to anything but the most cursory regulation, my fiancee and I took a taxi, after a night out, from New Brighton to her home in Liscard. I walked home,and when I got to where the old Telegraph garage was on Mount Pleasant Road, opposite the Quarry, there was the taxi my wife and I had been travelling in, buried in the wall of the garage. The driver had suffered some kind of seizure on the way back to base in NB and died at the wheel. We might well have died too, had it happened on the outward journey. Given that experience yes, the medical regime for taxi drivers should be stringent; but not so stringent that the cost of it puts them out of business.

LGV drivers have to have regular medicals after a certain age, so I don't see why taxi drivers should be any different.

Report this post »

Heycock says...
9:57am Fri 15 Mar 13

It's not so much the need for a medical that worries the drivers....it's the cost on top of everything else they have to pay out. Another tax on working. Council employees who need medicals have them paid for by the ratepayers. Similarly council employees who need CRB's have them paid for by the ratepayer. AND "sick" days, holidays and pension contributions paid by ratepayers....includ
ing taxi drivers who have to fund these things out of their own pocket but get nothing back in return.
How about regular medicals for councillors. Psychiatric, financial competence and cover-up checks might be a good start.

Report this post »

David Scott says...
9:29am Sat 16 Mar 13

Bureaucratic control creeps on. Why not 6-monthly, 3-monthly, daily health checks?

Report this post »

bickyboy says...
9:23am Mon 18 Mar 13

Fair enough comment re the cost, Heycock.

Maybe insurers could be persuaded to give a discount to drivers who agree to submit themselves to regular health checks.

Report this post »

Positive thinker says...
3:48pm Mon 18 Mar 13

Hopefully when they attend for medical they would have washed and put a clean pair of tracky bottoms on

Report this post »

djrimmer says...
4:20pm Mon 25 Mar 13

The Knowledge test, B`tec an Not Very Qualified....are you serious, so they qualify you as a professional driver.
And who is the awarding body for your B`tec and NVQ....it certainly isnt the DSA...probably some mickey mouse training provider Wouldnt by any chance be Miserytravel

Report this post »

Heycock says...
7:39pm Mon 25 Mar 13

djrimmer.
Still talking rot.

Report this post »

djrimmer says...
12:32pm Thu 28 Mar 13

Check the facts Heycock, I think you will find each and every point I have made is "Fact" not rot

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree