Taxi drivers look out for each other and while there can be a fierce rivalry between cabbies and PHV drivers, few would break the law to drop another driver in it.
This is why concerns have been raised about a black cab operating in the capital with plates cloned from another taxi. Either there is a rogue driver pretending to be a cabbie picking up fares, or a genuine driver has stitched up a colleague as he picks up parking and traffic tickets while leaving an innocent cabbie to face the consequences.
Taxi insurance
For professional drivers such as taxi drivers, clocking up penalty points for speeding and parking offences can have an impact on their taxi insurance, which could ultimately affect their livelihood.
Would a genuine London cabbie, who has spent years and thousands of pounds completing The Knowledge, really do this to a colleague?
The worrying incident has been reported by Taxi Point after the innocent driver shared his ordeal on social media. He revealed that he received speeding and parking tickets for offences he did not commit. He was able to prove his innocence because his cab is blue while the vehicle in which the offences were committed – and were caught on camera – is the traditional black.
Rogue driver
It could be someone who has bought an iconic London taxi and is operating illegally with cloned number plates. This is a major concern for passenger safety because anyone who hails the cab has no idea who the driver is or what their motives are.
If this is the case, they will also have no public hire insurance, putting passengers and other road users at risk in the event of a crash.
The fact that they have also been caught speeding is another concern because it raises questions about the standards and safety of their driving. If they are involved in crash, they may even flee the scene, leaving the innocent taxi driver to face serious charges down the line.
Betrayal
The less sinister, but more unpalatable, alternative is that it is a licensed London cabbie who has chosen to betray a colleague by not only acting recklessly, but who is perverting the course of justice by attempting to incriminate another driver.
The innocent taxi driver who received the penalties wrote: “Someone put my plate number on his cab and driving around East London. I reported to police already. I received 4 parking tickets and 1 speeding. Please, if you see him, call police or me. My cab is blue but this one is black.”
Taxi Point reports that one of the main reasons for plate cloning is criminals trying to avoid detection or fines. Not only can it lead to innocent drivers being wrongfully penalised and facing the hassle of disputing fines and violations, it means that people with questionable motives are free to commit crimes knowing that someone else will take the blame.
Sadly, a London cab can offer the perfect opportunity for someone to hide in plain sight on the capital’s crowded streets.
We would like to think that in this case it is criminals who have cloned the plates of a legitimate taxi in order to carry out other crimes – which is a huge concern for public safety – rather than a genuine taxi driver who has decided to throw a colleague under the bus.
