Taxi operators urged to get on board with recertification

By Kimone Witter    

 

President of the Central Manchester Taxi Association, Shirley Johnson, is calling for taxi operators to comply with the plan to have them undergo retraining and recertification as part of efforts to reduce crashes.

 

Mr. Johnson says he is hoping that the proposal, which came out of last week's meeting of the National Road Safety Council, will not just be empty talk by the government.

 

He says the programme should start before the end of the year, as it is needed. 

 

"I spoke to some of [my members] and they agree with it, because, as I said, a lot of the drivers out there, they only hear about the Road Traffic Act, they do not know about it. And some of them, you just put them in a car, because automatic car anybody can drive it. So they just drive [but] most of them don't have the driving experience out there. So with the recertification, I think...the accidents on the road will reduce," he suggested. 

 

Mr. Johnson supports the view that all motorists should be retrained, especially those with licences under ten years.

 

The president of the Central Manchester Taxi Association also wants the authorities to focus less on taxi operators obtaining and wearing badges, which is a requirement of the Road Traffic regulations.

 

Mr. Johnson said this issue, which he describes as minor, causes animosity among taxi operators, the police and the Transport Authority, which results in many good drivers leaving the transport sector. 

 

"The badge that they are pressuring the operator to have, the badge don't make you be a driver," he said, arguing that the recertification is much more important.