You are here Home
17 October 2012

TaxiForums.co.uk, The Taxi Drivers Forum - The forum for taxi drivers in the UK!

Working in conjunction with the GMB Professional Taxi & Private Hire Drivers Union
Helping drivers take control of their industry!

 
 

Quick tips for the new forum

To add a link use - [url]www.yourlink.com[/url]
To add an image use - [img]http://www.yourimage.com/filename.gif[/img]
To style your text - view this post


Taxi driver runs foul of the law as he imprisons passengers over fare dispute – new court case should act as a warning
Last Post 07/12/2011 04:09 PM by Oliver Gardner. 0 Replies.
AddThis - Bookmarking and Sharing Button
Sort:
Next
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Author Messages
Oliver Gardner

TF Trainee

Posts:17


--
07/12/2011 04:09 PM  
Taxi law experts Howards Solicitors are warning taxi drivers not to take the law into their own hands, even if they believe they are being provoked, after a new landmark ruling.

The case of Eve Lamb v Equity Red Star has set a new precedent for the duty of care demanded of taxi drivers towards their passengers and other road users.

The taxi driver who was insured Equity Red Star had been found liable of false imprisonment after he refused to let his passengers leave his vehicle over a fare dispute.

In the ensuing confrontation between the driver and Ms Lamb’s partner, she suffered a broken hip requiring 6 weeks in hospital after the driver lost control of his vehicle.

The taxi driver had decided to take the couple to a police station despite repeated requests to be allowed to exit – an action that was deemed false imprisonment by the Court.

This has led to a key ruling that the driver had a strict liability, which makes him legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his acts regardless of fault – Ms Lamb was awarded £13,250 in damages.

Deputy District Judge Jones also commented in his judgement that the driver had the option to stop his vehicle but continued and so posed a significant danger to other road users as well as his passengers.

Howards Solicitors, which works closely with the taxi trade, represented Ms Lamb, believes that taxi drivers must take away key lessons away from this case.

Gavyn Atkinson, head of personal injury and civil litigation, who worked on the case at Howards Solicitors, advises: “If you are a taxi driver that believes that they have been wronged do not take the law into your own hands, pursue other options.

If you find yourself in a difficult position call the Police if possible, drop off passengers outside their homes or places of work and note the address, install cameras in your cab.”

Atkinson continues: “Only in cases of self-defence where you honestly believe that there is a threat to your physical well-being would we acknowledge that there might not be any reasonable alternative. However, cases that go to Court are often not clear cut in regards to self-defence.”

Oliver Gardner managing partner of Howards Solicitors, which specialises in criminal and motoring law comments: “The law is still far from satisfactory for taxi drivers. There are few, if any, cases that give much needed guidance to taxi drivers in this area.

Moreover, Gavyn’s research showed that no approved guidelines are in place, from councils or colleges offering NVQs for taxi drivers. It is a situation that needs to be resolved quickly to protect taxi drivers and their passengers.”


Notes
Howards Solicitors offer expert legal advice to private and commercial clients for motoring offences, personal injury and criminal law cases.

Howards handles criminal law cases ranging from assault up to multi-million pound VAT fraud.

It has a specialism in taxi law: partner Peter Eatherall worked in the sector and also ran his own taxi firms before qualifying in law in the early 90s. Oliver Gardner has a 15-year legal career that encompasses motoring and taxi law expertise.

http://www.howardssolicitors.co.uk/

Contact Oliver on [email protected] or 0161 872 9999
You are not authorized to post a reply.

Active Forums 4.1

TaxiForums.co.uk is a proud supporter of the uhuw project

A THM Website

 

Looking for cheaper taxi insurance? Why not try Taxi Insurance Trader!

 
 
Email Signup

Click Here to signup to our mailing list

Latest Discussions
Taxi Drivers Wanted in General taxi chat by hunti410
CALLS STRAIGHT TO YOU IN YOUR CAB in Taxi Trade equipment by CAB-CALL.COM
The UK's most memorable freephone taxi telephone number in General taxi chat by Numberman
RE: Beat Rising Fuel cost. 7-14%+ Extra MPG & 75 less emmissions! in It's all about the wheels by thefuelsaveguy
golden telephone numbers - all areas covered in Announcements by Numberman
Copyright 2022 e-Byss Ltd Privacy StatementTerms Of Use Xhtml 1.0 CSS 2.0