[Closed] are taxi drivers that bad!

There are lots of you, driving in and around the busiest streets. It's therefore inevitable that there'll be some conflict between yourselves and bikers.

Having said that, I think anyone who is being paid to drive somewhere under any pressure of time is carrying around an additional risk.

For consistant bad driving & ignoring the highway code they REALLY are that bad around our way.

Bit like lorry drivers & van men, they're on the road a lot so that the inconsiderate (or plain shit) ones get a lot of opportunity to "meet" cyclists

theres not many road cyclists where i live but i do come up against consistently bad driving from members of the public who always seem to think i'm in the wrong even tho i'm not. i just wonder if i.m an easy target lol

So far the only car to actually make contact with my bike was a taxi!!!

However i'm sure not all taxi drivers are bad people, i'm also sure not all cyclists are good people.

i get abused daily for driving within the law and rights of way so much so that if become imune to it, so sometimes i think if i can.t beat them join them and live upto the rep

Nope just an easy target. Taxi's are noticeable and visible,I drive around all day, I stop, do u turns park in narrow streets, bus lanes were ever. Not because I feel like it but because I have to in order to do my job. And my job is providing a service to all of you out there. If I'm double parked in a busy street it's because someone has ordered a taxi and can't be bothered to come out and meet me, you can't just cruise past and Bu%%er off.
For what it's worth taxi drivers have fewer accidents per mile driven than the average motorist (500,000 for me and counting ) In 20yrs I've only had two runins with cyclists ( no accidents just near misses) One was totally his fault ( riding off a pavement at speed and trying to go around the front of my car, as I was pulling out of a junction ) The other time I could see how he thought it might have been my fault, but it was just one of those accumilation of circumstances. In both cases I was subjected to foul verbal abuse,being a cyclist I forgave them and put it down to the release of adrenaline you get with near death experiences.

i just wonder if i.m an easy target

Well considering that you've just asked a bunch of cyclist their opinions concerning taxi drivers after announcing that you are one yourself, I would say yes, you are indeed an easy target - well far too easy for me anyway.

Although I suspect as a cyclist yourself, you undoubtedly show the utmost respect to other cyclists - as you tear around Britain's roads terrorising and upsetting other drivers 😉

haha i'm immune to upseting other drivers,well the bad ones anyway,its what keeps me interested lol but like taxi25 said mile for mile we are the safest.in my company the last two years there has been 12 crashes and every one has been members of the public crashing into taxis.

mile for mile we are the safest

Only because most sensible drivers get out of your way 😯

every one has been members of the public crashing into taxis.

Haven't we all felt like doing that at some time ? 🙄

As an ex instructor I tend to notice a lot of bad behaviour from lots of road users. I think what doesn't help taxi drivers is that often their first response is to point out they are professional drivers. However, these professional drivers have no more driving qualification than the standard L test. The hoop they're asked to jump through by the local authority doesn't really ensure a higher standard of driving ability. Would it have an effect if all taxi drivers (HC&PH) were advanced drivers with regular tests?

By the way, are we talking Hackney Carriage or private Hire here?

Perhaps some of them could learn what the correct use of the horn is?

Talking about the private hire guys that don't seem to give a toss what time of the day or night it is when 'announcing' their arrival at the intended victims pick up location

Depends whether you mean black cab or "green disc" private hire.
Certainly round here the black cab drivers are generally pretty good, although being professional drivers who know how big their vehicle is they can drive "close" - green disc taxi drivers are much more aggressive, speed very obviously (80 in a 30 from personal experience) and as a cyclist having to avoid one is maybe not a daily occurence but certainly a weekly one.
This would be London experience, if you're in the shires I couldn't say.

regular tests for all road users in that case! imo somebody who does 1000 town miles a week is going to be more alert and competant than grandma going to the shops once a fortnight then parking on double yellows whilst trying to get the car through the shop window so they dont have to walk five yards

both taxi and phv

50-something taxi driver jumped out of his black cab outside East Croydon station once to 'sort me out'. He was very angry and thought that because he paid tax driving on the road that he was directly funding the roads upkeep himself. I made the mistake of cycling up his lane and holding him up. Jeesus. I imagine hes had a heart attack by now with the anger.
In Manchester there are a definite mix. The City-supporting salt of the earth types who are nice blokes and the 70mph in a 30 to get to the next pickup first. The latter I bet are run on a shoestring/low pay as they tend to be first generation Asian, monosylabic with cars on their last legs. Sorry, its an observation based on weekend taxi-use!

Legend76, I agree. I think everyone should be tested regularly. I also think that someone should get longer between tests if they take the advanced test.

Most things that someone does professionally are more tightly controlled than if they did them personally. However, driving seems to be the exception to the rule. Local authorities seem far more intested in the paperwork exercise that the drivers ability or more importantly, attitiude. I can imagine that the good taxi drivers are getting well and truely fed up of being shown up by the poorer ones. I'd also imagine that the good drivers would have no objection to regular and stringent testing if it sorted the wheat from the chaff.

The real problem, with everyone on the road, is that they assume they have a right to drive rather than seeing it as a privellige. I saw something the other day about old people who shouldn't really be driving anymore (comment made after independant testing and I know, it's not just old people) but the arguement offered in their defence was that it was their freedom. When did that become reasonable grounds for risking someone else's life?

I'm not sure about more alert (terror through lack of experience makes people pretty alert), certainly someone who does a 1000 miles a week is going to have a far far better understanding of the surrounding environment, and a greater appreciation of the probable risks. Probably less cautious than grandma. I guess there's a graph to be drawn with the lines cautiousness and competence, with somewhere near where the lines cross making the safest driver. I think black cabs, mini cabs, and airport transfer cabs probably occupy different areas.
Sales reps have their own separate power point presentation.

however, don't under etsimate the danger of complacency which happens to a lot of people who do the same drive again and again. It's why most crashes happen closer to home.

well the police do seem to turn a blind eye to elderly drivers, just the other day whilst aproaching a junction one of those mobility scooters came hurtling around the corner on the wrong side of the road then proceded to charge at me. i think the authoritys are trying to push up standards but your right it all seems to be ticking boxes and paperwork.

I used to make a point to my students when they'd tell me how much experience they had. Is that 1000 miles of experience or 1 mile of experience repeated a 1000 times.

Experience isn't what you've done, it's what you've learned. Lots of people go through life learning very little. if they're lucky, most of the time they'll be surounded by people who have learned a little and they'll get away with it.

onzadog thats true i'm always gobsmacked it the comments made to me at work and wonder how people get as far as they do in life haha
common sense is not common

Do taxi drivers have legs?

Serious question really as I've never seen one out of his car 😉

only when a blonde babe needs help with her cases! 😯

[i]Do taxi drivers have legs?[/i] dunno but some definitely smoke in their cabs.

oh well they all must smoke in there cabs then

some people rape,some murder ,some beat people up, but hey those guys smoking in their cabs....well i just can't let it go!

'Some' legend. I said 'some'. Its usually the ratty/on the last legs taxi's but its annoying as you can still smell it.

haha i know sorry for being snappy. it stinks i agree!

It's why most crashes happen closer to home.

And most accidents happen at home.

And most muggings happen near home.

That's why I moved.

Many moons ago, I used to be involved in the installation of automated taxi dispatching systems.

My exposure to taxi drivers was frightening. Their general attitude to other road users and their perceived self importance was amazing.

Admittedly I'm tarring all taxi drivers with the same brush which is unfair, but some of the drivers I met were very scary. I'm amazed they could get a job where there is a degree of responsibility.

I guess it's like painters though. If you can p!ss, you can paint.

The PH guys were the worst. The Hackneys were a more refined breed to be fair.

Yep, especially when they overtake me on a 30mph road at warp factor stupid! I didn't realise there was a separate law for these clowns 😆 I am sure there are good taxi drivers, but I have never come across them in all my travels around the UK.

I drive a wagon usually on motorways and A roads but occasionally I have to do a drop in a town and I have noticed different towns/cities different driving.

A few weeks back I had to do two drops one in Glasgow then one in Edinburgh. Glasgow people let me manouvre no one held there hand on the hooter for 5 minutes because they couldnt get past a bloke even got out of his BLACK TAXI 😮 and helped me back in.

Two hours later I was in Edinburgh shoot what a difference it was horns going, people screaming abuse, cutting each other up and an absolute refusal to give way. Result traffic was bloody awful and by the time I got out of the city I was wound up tight as a drum and feeling like I was going to have a heart attack.

London considering the size and the amount of traffic isnt too bad the worst I have ever been in Bristol where everyone seemed to be on angry pills and I saw three accidents in the space of a couple of miles.

I've met a few nice can drivers (I can take a cab home after 9pm from work), but I have been scared sh*tless by so many.

It seems to be something to do with the way that the job is so tiring and wears them down that they become sloppy in their attitudes and decision making. "Oh, it's only just turned red, I'll just carry on" or "I'm doing a u-turn and the rest opf you can f*** off".

I don't GAS whether the testing standard is any higher - these aren't HGVs - but being a "porfessoinal" driver does bring with it additional responsibilities. Instead of (a) thinking the world owes you a living and (b) thinking that you have more "right" to be on the road, consider how your behavious affects other road users.

is it really ok for a taxi driver to stop to pick up/ set down on double yellows?

i thought that was ilegal? either way its a right pain in the arse especially when its blocking a cycle lane, though to be fair its not just taxi drivers, though i was nearly taken out by a black cab a while back who swerved over cutting me up without indicating to pick up 2 babes at a roundabout, i called him a **** and went on my way, he caught me up at the next set of lights and repeatedly said i wasnt visible enough (2 flashing LEDs at each end a luminous yellow jacket) and shouldnt be cycling on such a busy road anyway (near buck palace)

the green disc ones seem much worse, regularly running reds/ amber by flooring the accelrator, not indicating- especialy at roundabouts and when ive got taxis home at 3 or 4 am coming out of a club can honestly say ive been terrified on a some occasions as they race to get back and pick up the next fare, with little or no concern for other vehicles/ people, speed limits or traffic regulations

Got a cab home on Saturday night from Cambridge station, 50mph all the way (on 30 mph) roads of course, except for the one dip in speed near a speed camera.

But then it was 2am and there were no cyclists on the road at the time.

Personally I'm not a massive fan, but some are good and some are bad, example being the cabbie who just reversed out onto the road from a drop off on the one and only hill in Cambridge, forcing a girl on a shopper style bike to pull the most stylish skid/step off I've seen in a while, when I suggested he should have looked first, politely of course - he told me to "**** OFF". I could happily see him dead.

Well the PH ones in Liverpool are some of the slowest drivers I have ever seen! At traffic lights they will edge forward as though they are on a starting grid, then when the lights go green they will move off after a 10 second delay at a speed close to that of a glacier!!!
The black cabs are usually OK unless they have seen a fair on the other side of the road as then its high speed U turn city

professional drivers my arse.. mini cab drivers generally seem to have got there licences from a cornflake packet.
I had one doze off when he was driving me to the airport, and they are just a menace generally

They can pick up on double yellows as anyone can (if it's just a double yellow). You can board and alight, you can load and unload, you just can't wait.

sitting at home with broken leg after being knock over by taxi and have had two van writen off by taxi driver so would say yes bad driver most of them

How could I forget this? A taxi driver with a mini bus drove into the back of me and then proceeded to rant it was my fault 😆 I did mention about breaking distances etc but clearly the taxi highway code is different 🙄 I had the last laugh though as I drove off, whilst his transit was steaming away 😆 Cheeky twonk rang me at home trying to intimidate me about my story 😆

i think taxi drivers smoke in their cabs because it masks the smell of the customers some of which are lifting, and they drive fast to get the customer out before they shit/piss or spew

Since it's taken you a day to come up with it legend76, I am right in assuming that your latest explanation is as a result of an unfortunate incident which occurred today ?

When the kids reach a certain age when they are involved with all sorts of school / team stuff...
We all become TAXI drivers....

In 25 years cycling I've only been hit once by a car - driven badly by an uninsured taxi driver

idave, an uninsured taxi driver isn't realy a taxi driver !! He's just a criminal bum. Around here as soon as your insurance expires your vehicle goes on stop. It's no longer a taxi untill you take a new certificate to the hackney carriage office. Bad luck with being hit, but you've more chance of being hit by mr.average than a properly licensed, insured taxi.

he was driving a taxi. hence i made the assumption he was a taxi driver. he also paid way over the odds in cash to compensate for the damage to bike and clothing and keep the law out of it.

"Professional Driver"

Hmmmmmm..... Boll@cks!
sorry, but the way that people who drive a white van/HGV/taxi for a living describe themselves as a "professional" is just something that, rightly or wrongly, gets my goat.
A [i]Professional [/i] is someone who has undertaken a serious course of education/training/skills building/apprenticeship over a serious period of time (usually years). They then have to continually retrain/re-educate themselves for their entire career in order to keep up to date with the latest advances within their profession. They are faced with regular stringent revalidation exercises to retain their right to practice their profession as it evolves over the years. They are assessed by their peers regularly and brought to account of they fall short of required standards. They may be brought to book for having brought their profession into disrepute even if they have done nothing wrong within their particular line of work. And if they fail to do all this, they have their right to continue working within that profession removed, regardless of the effect on their livelihood.
This means Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers, Teachers, Police officers, Paramedics, Pilots, etc.

[b]Being a full time driver does not make someone a professional.[/b] They may in fact be a consumate profesional in their [i]approach[/i] to their employment/career, and may meet many of the above criteria, but they are not [i]professionals.[/i] .
I'm sorry, but over the years, somewhere along the line, [i]doing something for a living[/i] somehow became synonmous with [i]being a professional[/i]. I blame footballers!

I'm sorry if this gets the back up of the many experienced, considerate and responsible full time drivers on here, but I'm afraid it's true. A few weeks of HGV training, a test, and occasional medicals don't make you a professional i'm afraid. Nor does "doing the knowledge".

Most taxi drivers that i have come into contact with are very good though, and have always exhibited a professional attitude in a less than perfect environment. Delivery drivers though, thats another matter!

Stands back and awaits incoming!

I Know its splitting hairs idave, but I take pride in my job, An illegal taxi isn't realy a taxi just the same as unqualified layman isn't a doctor. You might call yourself one and try and do the job but your just a con.
I know its hard to resist the cash, but idealy you should have got the police involved and got him of the road.

I'm sorry if this gets the back up of the many experienced, considerate and responsible full time drivers on here......

I bet it doesn't.

And may I say, your rambling and endlessly waffling rant, was worthy of any self-respecting taxi driver 8)

Good rant Drillski but I've never described myself or heard another taxi driver describe themsselves as "professionals". We are as you rightly point out professional in the sense we're paid to do the job. I agree with you though, it gets on my tit when bin men for instance are called "enviromental hygiene professionals"

some good professional drivers but i get a little unghappy that the majority consider 10-20mph above the urban speed limit is the norm, ok its money and most times reactions are better than other drivers but not after a 12 hour shift on a too familiar route - that from the guy in the back seats viewpoint

as a ped' had two annoying incidents in the same week crossing the busy road outside the children's hospital
one taxi did an illegal (for any vehicle) left turn as we crossed a pelican on the green man forcing me to jump back with my 6 yr old

later in the week on another crossing 30m up road we crossed with green man but taxi speeding down bus lane ignored the red - fortunately i was looking for the usual cyclists who don't stop

the only people i've ever heard call taxi drivers professional are the police when dishing out a bollocking,but there's good and bad in every profesion, i just get abit fed up at being called a ****er every time another driver makes a mistake or pedestrian for that matter. just today a lady called me just that because she wanted to cross the road and expected me to slam on the brakes so she wouldn't have to break her stride!

As people taxi drivers are no worse and no better than the rest of us.

However the ones in Edinburgh at least seem to believe the laws of the road don't apply to them. I was walking up towards Charlotte Sq yesterday and watched one go through a red light that had gone red two seconds before (two seconds is a big distance in a car). At the next set of lights I actually caught him and pointed it out to him. He claimed he hadn't seen them, which was such a blatant lie it was unbelievable. And there were loads of tourists and the like around. He could have killed someone quite easily.

I said I was going to report him to the police, though I didn't. Should I maybe have?

I did report a Citylink bus driver to his company a few weeks ago for doing something similar on Queen St, and at way above the speed limit at a very busy junction. The company got back to me and said he'd been taken off driving duties and sent for retraining, so hopefully that'll stop him doing it again.

That said, the worst of all are courier and delivery drivers.