Some training organisations are now promoting the NVQ Level 2 for Road Passenger Transport at Local Government Authorities as an appropriate form of qualification for Taxi and Private Hire Drivers.

GoSkills, a government agency, is backing the initiative and will pay for individuals to be assessed and awarded the qualification, out of the public purse. But there is a snag as far as the industry is concerned: to qualify for public funding, the trainee must be genuinely employed in the sector. Self-employed persons will not qualify.

The NVQ course is designed to be undertaken over a two-year period. But the only way for new drivers to obtain a free qualification is to be formally employed by a car's owner. That means: payroll; minimum wage; a formal contract of employment; sickness benefits; holiday pay and the like. That is: all those things that vehicle owners currently avoid by only using self-employed drivers.

Are we seeing the thin edge of the wedge? From our point of view, such changes are long overdue. Every other trade that enjoys the luxury of employing staff has to conform to employment legislation. Why not the taxi and private hire industry too?

As it stands, the NVQ does not deliver disability awareness training. Rather, it relies upon employers to conduct what they think is suitable training of their staff, or ensure that recognised external instructors deliver it. In essence, NVQ assessors (not trainers) conduct formal interviews with employees and assess their performance by on-the-job inspection and questioning.

So the NVQ does not deliver professional training. It simply provides an unbiased assessment of whatever training has already been received.

The NVQ is a useful tool to ensure professional training has been conducted properly; but it does not presently replace the need for classroom theory and practical training that organisations like ourselves provide. And it does not relieve local authorities of their duty to ensure that all its taxi and private hire drivers receive adequate training for the new environment in which they find themselves.

As more and more local authorities consider repositioning their special needs contract work with local Community Transport Providers, it behoves both the local authority and the CTP's Board of Governors to ensure the liaison is lawful.

In particular, the CTP's Board must ask "Does the activity we are being asked to undertake constitute a primary aim of our charitable objectives or, in undertaking the activity, is our main or sole objective simply to raise money?"

Provision of transport to beneficiary groups or individuals by a Community Transport Provider, in return for payment, would probably be considered Primary Purpose Trading; but, if the activity is not part of the charity's primary objectives, it will be considered Non-Primary Purpose Trading.

For example, if a charity's primary purpose were directed at adults, any school contract work would be considered non-primary purpose trading and therefore subject to strict financial restrictions. Similarly, although the primary purpose of a charity might be to provide safe, accessible and affordable transport, it may only have the power to do so for specific beneficiary groups. In such a case, any contract to serve the general public might not necessarily be covered.

Even though a contract complies with a charity's primary objectives, it is considered good practise to set-up a separate trading arm to undertake such work. This provides the added flexibility of taking-on additional, non-primary purpose work - as well as protecting trustees and underpinning the tax position should an accepted contract be modified to contain an excluded group later on.

The Safety First Organisation is pleased to be among the first authorised CTA training agents to offer the new Car and Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) training program.

Developed from the nationally recognised MiDAS for minibus drivers, under the car and MPV driver program delegates will:-

• Be trained on safety issues and driving law.
• Be helped to improve their driving skills.
• Undertake an observed drive to ensure they can drive safely (optional if they are using their own car).
• Be trained to use accessible MPV equipment if necessary.
• Be awarded a certificate if successful.

The standard one or two day course (dependent on the number of delegates) can be supplemented with one or two further specialist modules as required:-

• Module C1 - Transporting Children and Young People with Special Needs.
• Module C2 - Transporting Adults Who Require Care and Supervision.

Including one or more of the above modules takes the training time to two or three days.

The new MiDAS Car and MPV course is comprehensive and ideally suited to CTAs; charities and the private hire/taxi trade.

Many of you, it appears, are still confused over the difference between the 'B' and 'D1' licensing issues. We therefore provide a definitive statement regarding the issues involved.

Whilst the 'B' license enables you to drive a vehicle with a MAM not exceeding 3500kg and having up to 8 passenger seats with a trailer up to 750kg (and combinations of towing vehicles in category 'B' and a trailer where the MAM of the combination does not exceed 3500kg and the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle) you may not use your 'B' license to drive any such vehicle for hire or reward.

This is a stipulation of all standard insurance policies and criminalises, for example, the teacher who drives his school's minibus - because of the link between his remuneration and the driving activity. However, there is nothing to prevent the same teacher volunteering his services to drive, say, a minibus for the local scout troop - provided he does so for no reward. In the latter case there is no link between his remuneration and the activity he is undertaking, so his standard 'any vehicle' (or the vehicle owner's 'any driver') policy would fully cover him.

Things become more complicated if the driver is paid for his services or the vehicle is hired for reward. In such cases, in order to obtain the required insurance cover, it is necessary to show that the vehicle and driver is suitably licensed by the local authority for undertaking such work - or that the driver possesses a category 'D' or 'D1' license which is provided for just such a purpose.

Charities, Hospitals and Community Transport Associations are not above the law. The same conditions apply. If the drivers are rewarded or the vehicles offered for hire (whether they are owned by the driver or not) the use of a category 'B' license will not be covered by any standard insurance policy. To be legal, all drivers and their vehicles must be licensed by the local authority or each driver must possess a category 'D' or 'D1' license. In both instances, the driver must be fully insured for hire and reward (even if the reward offered just covers motor expenses).

There is no exception to this rule.

The 25th of June will see the completion of the first phase in training Basildon's taxi drivers in disability awareness skills.

We are pleased to report that, so far, of 750 delegates (725 licensed taxi drivers and 25 controllers/telephonists) attending the course, all successfully passed the formal examination test with a score in excess of 80%.

We take this opportunity of thanking all delegates for their hard work and of congratulating each and every one on their outstanding individual achievements.

It is not easy to take on board new ideas and be told that the working practises you have been conducting over many years are unsafe. Nor is it easy to explain to some clients that they cannot be transported because it would be too dangerous to do so. Many will be tempted over the next few months to take a chance and handle a fare using those dangerous old practises, because it’s easier to say "OK. Just this once" than it is to say "Sorry. Never".

It will be difficult at first because the public also need to be taught why some transportation methods are unsafe.

Since the 22 February, 188 taxi and private hire drivers have undertaken the Condensed PATS based Disability Awareness Training Course (developed by the CTA and adapted and delivered by the Safety First Organisation) to join Basildon District Council's Quality Transport Scheme.

In addition, Castle Point Borough Council is now using the Safety First organisation to train all their wheelchair accessible plate holders to the same exacting standard. Course attendees have quickly realised the benefits of becoming professionally trained, particularly from the viewpoint of increasing their individual turnovers through creating additional work for those drivers who are properly qualified.

The fact is that no vehicle is safe to drive if it is overloaded, because there are physical limits which its tyres and suspension can bear.

Moreover, it is not just a simple case of ensuring that the total laden weight does not exceed the manufacturer's specification. The way that the load is distributed is of special importance.

There is a further factor to be taken into account when distributing a load - and that is the vehicle's seating. Each will have its own load bearing restrictions and the sad fact is that few standard vehicles employ seats that can safely transport a clinically obese client. This is especially true of the standard saloons that are employed by many rural Hackney Carriage and Private Hire proprietors. It should also be noted that the excessive wear and tear, which is characteristic of vehicles used in these trades, can significantly reduce the safe laden weight cited by the manufacturer.

Overloading a vehicle is not only dangerous - it is illegal.

Knowing your vehicle's limitations:

A new vehicle's safe load can easily be calculated by subtracting its unladen weight (ULW) from the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) specified in the manufacturer's handbook. This must then be divided by the number of seats to obtain an average seat weight allowance which should never be exceeded.

Lastly, check that the calculated allowance does not exceed the seat manufacturer's specification. If it does: the allowance should be reduced accordingly and any remaining load allocated proportionately to the roof and boot (if present).

To accurately assess the vehicle's unladen weight, a ULW certificate can be obtained from any public weighbridge; but it is important that the vehicle carry a full fuel tank and all its normal equipment when the weighing is undertaken.

Never overload your vehicle - and never be pressurised into doing so...

The inset photographs illustrate just how NOT to transport a wheelchair and its passenger.

In the event of an accident or forced emergency stop, serious injuries can result. No wheelchair should ever be transported sideways; nor should it ever be positioned in such a way as to block an emergency exit.

When transporting a wheelchair it is also vital to use the correct equipment. In the event of a traffic accident or emergency stop, forces of 10g and more can be exerted in the forward and backward directions and over 5g can be exerted sideways. The vehicle's fittings and the passenger and wheelchair restraint system in use must be able to adequately cope with these forces.

Even under light braking and low speed cornering, an unrestrained wheelchair can easily become dislodged and create a hazard to other passengers. Moreover, wheelchair occupants have been known to fall out of chairs which have not been adequately restrained.

Even with the correct equipment; not all wheelchairs can be safely transported. The CAPS 2 wheelchair, for example, requires special fittings and cannot be transported by a TX class vehicle. Other chairs can also be unsafe to transport because they have not been manufactured to suitable crash requirement standards or are defective in their brakes or some other respect.

To further complicate matters, additional problems are now being introduced by some Local Councils whom have allowed multi-purpose type vehicles to creep into their Hackney Carriage fleets to serve in a wheelchair accessible capacity. Some of these are no more than simple van conversions that are incapable of safely bearing a modern electric wheelchair and its occupant without becoming seriously overloaded. Indeed, pressing four large adults into seats designed only to accommodate 10.5 or 12.5 stone passengers is in direct contravention of Section 8 (1) of the Road Traffic Act 1991. Perhaps the plates issued for these vehicles, instead of just stipulating "up to 4 passengers", will be especially redesigned to specify "up to 1 large; 1 medium and 2 small passengers or 2 large passengers or 4 standard passengers or any suitable combinations thereof..."

These vital safety issues will not be resolved by legislation. Only professional education and public support will achieve that. Education; education; education. Now, where have we heard that phrase before? It is a pity that the Government never passed an Act that would require all Members to be suitably educated and professionally qualified before tying the hands of those local officials whom are.