Why are private hire taxi drivers SO bad at driving?

Question

Here in the UK the standard of some taxi drivers is terrible. The black cab ones don't seem to be so bad but its the private hire ones, the Toyota brigade, that seem to be oblivious of every rule of the road. They speed, don't wear seatbelts, talk on their phones, take ludicrous chances, all this from so called professional drivers? Learner drivers are better than taxi drivers! I know that nobodys perfect but taxi drivers are just so, so bad its a wonder they even survive.

Having to make money does not give you the right to put lives at risk either, they always use the pathetic excuse that they have a fare waiting, so that makes it ok to kill people? Anyone any ideas why they are just so poor?

Answer 1

They want money, you are just a passenger - they go where you want them to go, nothing else - plus, they are mostly impatient

Answer 2

I think that the ones who "learned" to drive in third world countries are the worst, but even locals don't bother with seatbelts.

I'm guessing that if they had any sense, they'd be able to get a better job than driving taxis.

Answer 3

If you pay peanuts you get monkeys! In other words if you have a driver getting minimum wage because all his cost's (Fuel, insurance, tax etc) have gone up, but he has not been able to increase his fares. Then they will attract the bad drivers with poor driving skills.

Ja.

Answer 4

I'm from the USA and the taxi drivers are just as bad over here! They think the rule the road and nothing will ever hurt them-but it seems to me that every other taxi I see has a dent or something on it. They are very bad at the airport also-it seems like thats where they are the worst!

Answer 5

back in my country... then GO BACK TO YOUR COUNTRY.

Answer 6

because you are watching LOL. No not really. You can provide their names to the authorities and then another chance is given to a person that will ?maybe? drive better. But when you consider the level of people that make a living driving a taxi...well....not all of them are mentally challenged but it helps. You can make complaints to the dispatchers and they will convey the message but don't give your name; remember Robert De Nero in that Taxi Driver movie...col...(crying out loud)

Answer 7

they are rushing to there next fare lol

Answer 8

That is so true. Only the other day one of them overtook a car on the opposite side of the road, and i had to stop because he was heading straight for me on a narrow road. I bet his passenger won't be using him again.

2 years ago, one of them also tried to overtake me from behind, but when he saw an oncoming vehicle in his path he went into the back of my minibus. When i got out he shouted 'look what you've done' at me. He later got 2 friends to act as false witnesses and say that I had pulled out of a side road in front of him, which wan't true, and he tried to sue me for 11,000 pounds of damages and whiplash. Strangely enough the woman and child passengers were fine. I took it all the way to court and won. and his insurance company then refused to pay for my legal costs because he had lied, and the court made him pay 4 and a half thousand pounds himself. I still smile when i think of it.

Answer 9

Most of them got their licence off of the top of a cornflake packet, if they have a licence at all.

Answer 10

because half of them dont actually have licenses (or uk ones at least) and think they own the road, as a side note they are not required to wear a seatbelt due to the nature of the job taxi drivers are exempt

Answer 11

You must be living in Leeds, where the minicab drivers are the worst ever!

I wouldn't put my life in danger using these guys - and i am qualified to judge as i am an ADI

Answer 12

i can't afford them

Answer 13

It's really not easy to be a taxi driver, considered as self-employed, with no fixed income and yet, got to pay for rental of taxi, petrol, road tax and insurance. If there are any damage, they would have to pay for the repair also. As the result, they always don't get to earn very much every month. Thus, often they have to drive for long hours in order to make money to meet their end need.

Of course, I don't mean these as an excuse for the taxi drivers to continue to do what they are doing, they too, need to be educated, and not forgetting the risk they are exposed to also, not just because of accidents on the road, but also the risk of being robbed and killed. I'm sure many of you are not unfamiliar with news that drivers were robbed and killed in the past.

So while we are complaining about the bad taxi drivers, let's not forget those who are good taxi drivers too.