Driving Tips

Taxi drivers and other motorists are caught on camera hundreds of times a day as they go about their business and need to be on their best behaviour whenever they are at the wheel.

Taxi drivers are often people who regularly get involved to help make a difference, whether it is campaigning about safer issues in towns and cities, or giving seriously ill children a fantastic day trip out. They also look after each other and form life-long friendships.

Being blinded by bright headlights is extremely dangerous and is an issue taxi drivers face every night, sometimes with tragic consequences.

One of the major causes of collisions is drivers carrying out manoeuvres unexpectedly and not giving other motorists a chance to avoid a bump. So, manufacturers have decided to take this out of the hands of the motorist with the creation of automatic indicators.

Finding the right car is the most important decision a taxi or PHV driver has to make. It is a huge investment in their business and one they must get right.

Today is International Wheelchair Day, when users celebrate the positive difference a wheelchair makes to their lives. But, despite changes and improvements, it is also a reminder of the difficulties they still face, including using taxis and PHVs.

Whether it is a deer bounding across a motorway or a badger trying to cross an A-road, drivers can be faced with a variety of four-legged or winged hazards and have only a split-second to act.

As well as being safe drivers, taxi drivers have to be in charge of marketing and public relations, as well as customer services and complaints.

It is easy to overlook tyres when it comes to maintaining a car but as taxi drivers know, they are one of the most important parts of a vehicle, especially in the winter.

As we endure longer nights and bad weather, no one wants to be stuck at the side of the road in the cold and wet.

The motor insurance industry takes two main factors into account when calculating insurance premiums – the risk and the cost of paying out a claim.

We recently looked at how the soaring cost of vehicle parts was pushing up the price of repairs and making taxi insurance and other business motor insurance claims more expensive.

When taxi drivers buy a new vehicle, reliability is one of the key things they look for both for now and in the future.

But it is only when they get an expensive repair bill – on top of taxi insurance and running costs – and have to wait for their vehicle to pass its MoT retest to get it back on the road that they might question their choice of car.

Although you must have taxi insurance to operate legally in the UK, there are other types of insurance needed to run a taxi business.

And, typically, the bigger the operation, the more cover is needed to protect staff, passengers and the entire operation.