I READ with interest your piece on November 20 about people prepared to risk driving while over the limit. But is taking a taxi any more safe?
Bus and HGV drivers have tachographs and limits on the time they can be behind the wheel, yet there are no rules governing private hire or Hackney cab use.
It is entirely possible that we are having two or three drinks and then climbing into a car where the driver has been on the go for 15, 16 maybe even 18 hours.
The problem is alcohol can be measured as ml/litre of blood – there is no measurement for driving while tired, but a number of the insurance companies for taxi drivers have done studies showing that as many as 20% of night accidents are caused by driving tired or fatigued.
I was collected by a Warrington driver a few days ago who told me he had been 'on the go' since around 6am – this was at 10pm.
TIM PROUD
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