TAXIS, INSURANCE, AND THE PUBLIC

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 89, 17 April 1939, Page 8

TAXIS, INSURANCE, AND THE PUBLIC

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —Being a taxi owner-driver I have -followed with keen interest the statements of both Mr. A. K. Murray and Mr. E. A. Batt on the taxi thirdparty risk. I have come to the conclusion that if the figures as given by Mr. Batt in "The Post" are correct, then it is in the taxi men's own hands to cut down the high percentage of accidents, and by doing that the insurance rates will naturally come down, the same as they have on service cars.

As an owner-driver I know the problems that the taxi driver has to contend with, and I blame the general public to a certain extent. Time after time a taxi is rung for a quarter of an hour or even as late as ten minutes before the departure of a train or boat, or a few minutes before a theatre is due to start, and the first thing the passenger says is: "Go for your - life, driver; I must catch the train, boat, or get to the theatre before the show starts." The very same public on another occasion will call the driver everything when they see him rushing to the same kind of job. , My advice to my fellow-drivers is to turn the above type of jobs down, and thereby we will educate the public to order their taxis in a reasonable time.

There is another side of insurance that I am surprised that the Minister of Transport has not made compulsory for all cars, and that is property damage. There are too many cars on the road today which, if they meet with an accident, have no insurance—only third-party risk. I would like to know the number of times the insurance companies have had to meet claims and where they have not been able to recover from the party responsible as the car is not covered and they are not even in a position to pay for the damages. I venture to say that the insurance companies have lost thousands of pounds over a number of years. I had an experience of the above type last year I was sitting in my taxi waiting for a client to come out of a shop when a private car ran backwards into my car, smashing the bumper and damaging my mudguards, etc. The driver of the other car agreed that he was in the wrong, but he carried no insurance; it was an old model car that he had, and he couldn't afford to insure it. My repairs cost just over £4, but as I had to meet a franchise of the first £5, it fell to me to pay the repairs; the insurance company was lucky this time. I placed the matter in my solicitors hands, and after going into it thoroughly he advised me that it was not worth going on with as the other party had nothing, and that it was only chasing good money after bad. Now, Sir that is a side of the insurance that I think the Minister of Transport should go into.—l am, etc.,

A TAXI OWNER-DRIVER,