It is not uncommon to see tailgaters on the roads. Many drivers drive too close to the vehicle in front without even realising it. But what my pupil suffered from yesterday went quite a bit beyond how we should all reasonably expect drivers to behave.
Having hit us from behind as my pupil was attempting to navigate around a left bend, the taxi driver started to plead his innocence in broken English. I couldn't fully understand his point but got the gist that he considered the standard of his driving to be more than satisfactory.
What he then does is immediately get on his phone and is I presume 'taking advice' in a foreign language. Getting his name, address and mobile number proved to be incredibly difficult. This problem, coupled with the fact that this taxi was being driven around with an illegal front tyre, I called the police. The operator asked me to pass the phone to him, and suddenly there was an amazing improvement in this man's ability to speak English. Miraculous. When the call ends, he begrudgingly shows me his taxi badge. I now know the guy's name and quickly followed by a magical recall of a digit in his phone number hitherto omitted.
I honestly don't know why this has to be so difficult.
There is a law about standards of driving; tailgating is in the Highway Code. Highways England summarise it as follows:
We associate tailgating with aggressive, 'own the road' speed-merchants, trying to intimidate other drivers to get out of their way. ... The Highway Code says you should “allow at least a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front on roads carrying faster-moving traffic”.
Having observed this chap's road skills for about 3 minutes before the accident, that seems to me to be a reasonable representation of his driving behaviour. How long he has been driving a taxi around in Peterborough in this manner, I have no idea.
About a year ago, returning by train from a West End show my family were subjected to a taxi ride that included equally appalling driving of cutting vehicles up when changing lane, faulty car lights and a fuel stop, yes we actually stopped for fuel. When I reported that to Peterborough City Council the reply I received stated that I really should be grateful for the offer of a discounted rate on a future journey. Hmmmmm..... I thought..... interesting. Noted.
But driving ability aside, in this country, there is an expectation that the vehicle you drive on a public road, is roadworthy. The integrity of the tyres is most certainly included. Let's cut this guy some slack on that one, as at the time of the accident I called the police to report the state of his tyre (see image above), I thought it might be kind of relevant given the fact that he has just failed to prevent his vehicle from smashing into the back of mine. But no. It appears that a moving traffic offence such as this does not warrant the police attending. Let's just hope that some young child doesn't fall victim to this vehicle's inability to stop.
So let's ignore the driving standard, the illegal tyre, the inability to speak English to exchange particulars. But I'm not sure why we had to endure the laughing. Laughing at the fact that he has just caused:
- my pupil's confidence to be severely affected
- me to see my doctor for a back injury
- my driving school car to be replaced with a courtesy car
- the rest of my day to be consumed in reporting and gathering evidence (big thanks go to the member of the public who witnessed and contacted my driving school to share her dashcam)
- even with no blame, some kind of adverse effect on my insurance premiums
- my loss of earnings while waiting for the replacement vehicle
Ignorance of the law, reckless driving, giving inaccurate details and just to top it off, laughing at us.
Surely, please someone tell me, surely, there should be some kind of formal accountability served out to this guy? Please let that be so.
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