Fred and Barney (probably too fast for Dublin)

Dublin City council have in their wisdom (sic) set up a 30 km per hour (18 mph in the old language) zone within the city centre area, it operates 24 hours a day 7 days per week.
Whilst Idling and going down the soft decline that is Dawson street I needed to step on the brakes for fear of rolling too fast and getting a ticket.
I’ll be obeying the limit for fear of a crackdown by the Gardai on this new restriction but hope that soon sense will prevail and this ridiculous experiment will be disposed with.
Either that or I’ll buy a set of sails and attach some pedals to the drive shaft

I have thought long and hard on this since I 1st heard about it and have looked at both sides of the argument as best I can. I went back to the drawing board after reading Paul OBs posts and I have come to the following conclusions.

While nobody could ever question Frank Byrnes commitment to the cause of rectifying the bad decision making that has brought the industry to where it is today both with TDFC and ITC it is my opinion that the decision making process which has lead him and the ITC Executive to the conclusion that drivers should make themselves illegal as a form of protest is ultimately flawed and equally as bad. While I have been a staunch supporter of both TDFC and ITC and still believe in the value of a national association and a protest group at no stage did I or would I to date have agreed with any driver taking part in illegal activity during the course of his daily business and will not support the ITC in this endeavour even if Frank is at the helm.

At various different meetings there has been talk of individuals going on hunger strike, chaining themselves to various offices, setting their cars of fire, abandoning their cars etc and while some of these suggestions are off the wall I would have supported the driver/s in any of the above endeavours as his/her choice was just that a choice to take personal action which did not affect the well being of others.

Yes when we protested on O’Connell St and at the other protests there was inconvenience to the public due to delays caused but no member of the public was put in a situation where the vehicle they entered was uninsured and driven by an unlicensed driver. Those of us who were there to stay for the long haul were making decisions for ourselves and not for others. Were we not protesting against illegal activity among other things?

Putting all of that aside it is abundantly clear to me after a year of involvement that while most drivers are unhappy with most of the current representation they are not going to blindly follow the new kids on the block whoever they may be just for the sake of it. Gerry who posts on this site is a very good example of a taxi driver who while not happy with the current status quo will not back any organisation just for the sake of it. If he is paying his money he wants to know what he is getting for it. The only way that that can be achieved is through hard work by those who wish to represent their fellow drivers and a proven track record. To date none of the representative bodies have put together a portfolio clearly showing what attempts at negotiation has been made and the results of those attempts, who has been spoken to, what their responses were, who is favourable to attempting to rectify the current situation etc. Drivers get a bit of news from one source another bit of news from another. Some of it tallies some of it is contradictory all of it is confusing and it appears to most that still nothing is being done, even though that may not be the case. The human condition is to want to see proof.

While we were talking desperation this time last year before all of this kicked off I don’t believe that most would have thought that things could sink so low and still for all the protesting and talking nothing in real terms has been achieved by anybody for the ordinary independent working driver to date. Drivers and their familes are living hand to mouth at best in most cases. Frank talked about holidays in a recent post. My reality is will there be enough money each week to put food in our belly’s, keep a roof over our heads and keep us warm. I don’t know what a holiday is unless it is week where I don’t get phone calls from creditors looking for money that we don’t have. I was better off in the 80s and I sure a lot of others out there could say the same.

So for sense of argument let’s say that Johnny Reds licence is due for renewal in March. ITC propose that he does not renew as a form of protest. He duly informs the CTR that he is in dispute with them and does not renew. He then continues to drive and one of the following happens.

(a) He is stopped found by the Gardai or CTR enforcement officers to be operating without a licence ends up in court and is put in prison.
Can he expect the support of the general public? No way. He was operating illegally and putting us at risk. Throw away the key.
Can he expect the support of the media? Absolutely not they will have a field day about ignorant, uneducated, uncouth taxi drivers who refuse to follow the law of the land. He will be the subject of Prime Time and Frontline programmes. Vincent Browne will dedicate a segment of his programme to the subject and the general consensus will be that more regulation is needed within the Taxi Industry as it is obvious that they cannot control themselves. Joe Duffy will ask the public what they think and the answer will be that the state should take over the taxi industry entirely and all taxi drivers should become employees of the state and do what they are told. After all they are a scruffy bad tongued shower of ignoramuses anyway. Joe will recommend that Tommy Gorman come out of retirement to chair an advisory committee on the subject.
Can he expect the support of his fellow drivers? At best he will get the support of other protesting drivers. The rest will say that wasn’t the way to go and I don’t agree with it or great one less to compete with.
Will ITC pay our bills and keep a roof over mine and my daughter’s heads while he is in prison? I am not aware of their current financial situation but I would hazard a guess that they would not so we end up out on the street.
After all of this Johnny Red has his day in court and actually wins his case. Great he walks out onto the steps of the court along with the ITC Executive, his fellow protesters and supporters; he is carried high down the quays and hailed as a hero. He then goes to the hostel that I and our daughter are staying in as we are of course now homeless and sleeps his first night in a long time a free and vindicated man. The next day is start of the rest of his life. Off he heads to his mothers house to pick up the car from her driveway where it has sat during his time in prison and goes back to work. NOT.
His licence has lapsed. He must reapply. He must sit the full Skills Test. His vehicle licence has possibly lapsed during his time in prison. I couldn’t afford to renew it I was trying to keep my head above water. He will have to reapply He must try to get an insurance company to insure him again as his previous insurance was deemed null and void due to the fact that he did not have a valid SPSV Driver Licence.
BUT SURE IT WAS ALL WORTH IT TO PROVE A POINT

(b) Johnny Red is driving down the road and is involved in an accident. A pedestrian is killed and his passengers are seriously injured. Johnny knows he was illegally operating and that his insurance is null and void. He is arrested at the scene. The incident is all over the papers and on the news both domestic and international. The case goes to court and Johnny Red is convicted of driving without the proper licence and insurance and is banned from holding both a drivers licence and an SPSV licence for life. The innocent victims are years waiting for any form of compensation and their families start a campaign to bring a civil action against the ITC and its principles as they were the ones who in a position of authority encouraged Johnny to act in the manner that he did as a form of protest over a €250.00 licence renewal. Senior politicians and celebrities give the families their full backing and Johnny’s family disown him due to the shame he has brought them. Licensed drivers and the members of the JTC condemn his actions and are scathing to say the least about the decision that ITC made which Johnny blindly followed. Tommy Gorman is brought out of retirement as the face of the industry in an attempt to calm public fears and get across the point that all of the representative bodies are not acting in the same irresponsible manner as ITC. ITC is disbanded and Mr. Gorman accompanied by Kathleen Doyle makes a public statement condemning the incident. It is believed that this action has set back the industry by 20years or more.
BUT SURE IT WAS ALL WORTH IT TO PROVE A POINT

(c) Johnny Red is involved in an accident with another Taxi Driver (Johnny Blue) who is not part of the dispute and is operating within the confines of the law. Johnny Blue is only 18 months at the job and had bought a brand new momo to start his new business out of his redundancy when the building trade went tits up. Johnny Blue knows nothing about the history of the industry and cares less. He made a bad choice getting into taxi-ing in the first place and he just wants to keep his head above water. He doesn’t talk to anybody on the ranks. He is afraid that he might get into trouble as his plate number is a high one. €7,000 in damage is done to Johnny Blues car which he has to claim from his own insurance as he needs to get back on the road and doesn’t have time to wait for the legal wrangling to conclude, thus losing his no claims bonus and suffering an increase in his premium. The insurance company’s decide that the added risk of uninsured taxi drivers operating is justification to increase the cost of all SPSV Insurance. After all they have to cover their risk. Taxi Drivers who to date were not bothered what the protesters were doing are now up in arms and call on the CTR to get these illegal’s off the road. Talk on the ranks and in the Kesh is all about how all those ITC fcukers are after doing is costing drivers more money and poor aul Johnny Blue and his jammer. Jezuz sure she’s his pride and joy he was always out polishin her and topin up oil and water. She got more attention than his missus. Sure why wouldn’t he, he spends more time with her these days. It doesn’t matter that he is a new boy sure we are all in the same boat. The lads all get together and ensure that Johnny Blue will be able to earn a crust while is chariot is off the road by putting together a rota of lend cars. irishtaxi.org organise this through their site. After all they don’t want him havin to rent. Here hang on a minute wasn’t them ITC heads always goin on about doin away with renters. The fcukin thicks. What the lads on ranks and in the Kesh won’t do to the ITC fcukers and Johnny Red isn’t worth talking about. Every 7 seater and WAT on the ranks becomes an unofficial meeting place to discuss this issue. Lifelong enemies put their differences aside for the duration. Any support ITC had amongst drivers dwindles away as the CTR specially set up 24hr hotline is light up with legal drivers reporting the illegals. Fcuked if I’m goin to end up like Johnny Blue they say.
One good thing comes out of it all. For the first time in years the industry is united on something. The ITC has to go.
BUT SURE IT WAS ALL WORTH IT TO PROVE A POINT

I hope the gallery program works and that you guys like them: (may take a little while to load)

Publication of correspondence and minutes of meetings revealed nothing radical. ITC will continue to seek to remove drivers rather than plate licences. In contrast they will continue to oppose all efforts made by the Commission to exercise such a cull: the 9 year rule, the 3 year rule, increased fees, more stringent vehicle testing, indiscriminate skills testing, etc.

Every taxi plate in issue represents (gainful) employment. Every taxi driver you remove will create a situation vacant. With almost half a million people on the dole these positions WILL be filled. We, as an industry, are obsessed with self harm. We continuously seek to replace double jobbers and other less productive drivers with full time competition.

Seeking a temporary suspension of multiple plate holders’ licences does not go nearly far enough. The practice of renting saloon licences must be stopped. Some of us will remember when there were independent bookmakers, family run newsagents and butchers shops in every town and village. We cannot allow what is a simple one man service to become the next victim of corporate society.

There are positives though. There is no mention of a desire for rank space just for the sake of rank space. Rank space is required only where demand exists. There is a need to establish criteria defining the maximum number of taxis that can safely operate within such infrastructural constraints. A simple analogy lies in the excellent bicycle rental scheme. Do you think Dublin City Council would permit anyone and everyone operate such a scheme within the City and would jump to provide facilities for all with no regard for market demand? I don’t.

We have clearly identified methods of reducing and controlling the size of the fleet which comply with the current regulatory framework and, to some degree, with the policy objectives of the Commission. The fact that there is little or no interest in promoting such policy confirms the fact that we are, and will remain, divided and defeated.

It does not suit DAA licensed drivers to draw attention to the regulatory framework employed by that State agency. It does not suit those involved in the rental market to seek restrictions on their activities.

It does not suit us to stand up and be counted.

They’ve been busy little beavers, way too much information to put all the stuff they sent me here on the page, so I made a little site just to hold it all-

http://irishtaxi.org/itcletters/

Larry Murphy (A danger to all womankind)

This animal is due to be released from prison shortly and it is believed plans to set up home in Wicklow,  he is now 45 years old and no current pictures are available.

He is believed to be the  prime suspect for the disappearance of  at least 6 women in the Leinster area.

He  was disturbed by two hunters  in the Dublin/Wicklow mountains while  suffocating a girl with a plastic bag after having tortured and raped her during an ordeal lasting hours.

Why this thing is being allowed walk our streets as a free man is simply beyond belief.

If you feel strongly about this issue why not join the Don’t let larry Murphy out facebook grou:p  http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Dont-let-larry-murphy-out/221737928640

1. Street parking where off street parking is provided, as in most estates should render the owner liable for any accidents caused by a car slipping or sliding on ice and hitting the parked vehicle.

2. Pedestrians should become liable for accidents caused by their reckless behaviour.

3. Accidents caused by speed bumps causing a vehicle to loose traction should render the local authority liable.

4. Bad weather speed restrictions need to be legislated.

5. L drivers should be barred from the roads during such times.

6. PSV (Taxi Driver) applicants should have to do a practical driving test to show that they can actually drive.

7. Any Taxi Driver caught charging “danger” money should lose their licence.