Taxi drivers are a close-knit community and look out for each other. But a recent incident has caused concern as well as potential bad feelings in the trade after a London cabbie received tickets for multiple traffic offences – apparently committed by a driver in another part of the city who had cloned his number plate.
Rogue driver
Taxi Point reports that the innocent driver shared his ordeal on social media after receiving speeding and parking tickets for motoring 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.
One scenario is that it is someone who has bought an iconic London taxi and is operating illegally under the cover of 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.
Betrayal
The alternative is that it is a licensed London cabbie who has chosen to betray his colleagues – and one in particular – by not only acting recklessly, but by attempting to incriminate another driver as they carry on regardless.
The consequences of these traffic offences could have a serious impact on the career of the innocent driver, who could not only face fines, points on his licence or even a ban, but could also affect his livelihood if he loses the coveted taxi badge he has worked so hard for.
If it is a genuine London cabbie, the big question is why? They have completed The Knowledge to earn their own taxi badge and demonstrate they have an encyclopedic knowledge of the streets and places of interest across the capital, which makes them part of the best taxi service in the world.
The innocent taxi driver who has received the penalties wrote: “Someone put my plate number on his cab and is driving around East London. I reported to police already. I received 4 parking tickets and 1 speeding. Please, if you see him, call the 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.
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, rather than a genuine taxi driver who has decided to throw a colleague under the bus.
