Coronation Street

[number8]

Don't really know what category this question should go under, but here goes - on Corrie a couple of weeks ago somebody mentioned that cab drivers are exempt from wearing a seatbelt - can anybody confirm whether this true or not?

[bernardo]

I'm fairly sure that it is true - it has been mentioned on the radio a few times. The reason is that taxi drivers supposedly spend all their time jumping in and out of the car to open the door for the passengers to get in/out. i.e. a stupid archaic reason which is no longer relevant or appropriate - like the one about the obligatory bale of hay to feed the horse.

[sft42]

It is indeed true...it also applies to Post Office van drivers and other similar delivery drivers for the same reasons already given.

[number8]

Thanks guys

[gerry]

Well i thought the law stated that all drivers must wear seat belts.A friend of mine is a paramedic and they have to wear a seatbelt at all times regardless if it's an emergency or not. So i don't see how cab drivers would be treated any different.However the speed that some of these taxi drivers go they would be better off wearing a sealt belt.

[brawburd]

My friend's a taxi driver and says he has to wear a belt if no passenger in car, but can opt out if he has a passenger.

[Kerplunk]

It is for the safety of the driver. If the passengers get violent he / she can exit the vehicle easier.

[Amelia]

i don't know whether this is true but a taxi driver i once had didn't have a seatbelt on - when i pointed it out he said thet were exempt so no on ecan pin them in seat from back and do a runner without paying!!! although he was a right fatty - i think that was the real reason!!!

[bigbaldbloke]

If I remember rightly from my days in the force, the law applies to licensed hackney carriage drivers only. A taxi isn't necessarily one of these, it depends on the license held. I think the law DOES say only when a passenger is on board