Taxi drivers in Gloucestershire are being asked for their opinion on changes to current operational rules.

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Always book a licensed Gloucester Taxi.

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Suggested changes include a basic test in numeracy and literacy for new drivers with additional requirements for drivers from abroad.

Views are also being sought on whether private hire vehicles should have roof lights and new rules covering “stretched limousines” are planned.

Any comments should be submitted to the city council by Thursday.

Councillor Andrew Gravells, from Gloucester City Council, said: “This is really a matter of public safety and common sense.

“It makes sense for there to be consistency across the county.

“That will make things simpler and clearer for the travelling public.

“At the end of the day it is their safety which is of paramount importance.”

The city council will discuss the matter on 24 November.

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Post Credit

A 24-YEAR-OLD man wrote two false letters to Gloucestershire Constabulary claiming his friend was going to bomb a church and pizza shop, a court heard.

Furrukh Jamil, a married university graduate, wrote the letters after he fell out with the friend and wanted to get him into trouble with the police.

Teresa Perry, prosecuting at Stroud Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, November 3 explained that staff at the police HQ in Waterwells, Quedgeley and those at Barton Street police station in Gloucester each received the bomb hoax letters on September 17.

The matter was referred to special branch police who worked extra time over a weekend to discover the letters were fake.

After visiting the man implicated in the letters they were led to Jamil, a taxi driver, who lives in Russell Street, Gloucester.

They also found that his finger prints matched those on the letters.

Defending, Robert Welch said: “Jamil and his former friend met at university.

“Jamil lent him some money but they fell out after he failed to pay it back.

“After some unpleasant confrontations Jamil was at his wits end.

“He stupidly wrote these letters in the hope that his friend would get into trouble with the police.

“He has no previous convictions and was an exemplary member of society before this incident.”

Jamil, who has a child due in April, was given four months in prison for each of the bomb hoax letters. The sentences will run consecutively.

Credit

A Safety Story From Down Under!

A 36-year-old female had an accident several weeks ago and totalled her car.
A resident of Wollongong, NSW, she was travelling between Wollongong &
Sydney. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began
to hydroplane and literally flew through the air.

She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!

When she explained to the policeman what had happened, he told her something
that every driver should know -

She had thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and
maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain. But the policeman told her
that if the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplane – when
your tyres lose contact with the road, your car will accelerate to a higher
rate of speed and you take off like an airplane. She told the policeman that
was exactly what had occurred.

The policeman estimated her car was actually travelling through the air at
10 to 15 Km’s per hour faster than the speed set on the cruise control.

The policeman said this warning should be listed, on the driver’s seat
sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE ROAD IS WET OR ICY!

Australia tells teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed – but we don’t tell them to use the cruise control only when the road is dry.

The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the
policeman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totalled his car and
sustained severe injuries.

Almost every driver in the UK is aware that it is now illegal to hold a mobile phone whilst driving. But what options do you have if you need to make or receive calls on your mobile whilst you are driving?

There are several legal options available to you. Firstly, do not use your mobile phone at all if you are driving! That is the advise from road safety organisations, yet that is not allot of use for drivers who are dependent on mobiles for their day to day business. A Second choice may be a bluetooth headset, but be sure to have a fixed holder or cradle for your mobile  to sit in, as you are not allowed to hold it to make calls whilst driving, even if you are using a bluetooth ear peace. Thirdly -and this is the preferred solution to thousands of professional drivers across the UK is a fully fitted bluetooth handsfree car kit, but again, as above, make sure you have a fixed holder for your mobile to avoid falling foul of current legislation!

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We will soon be adding local news items about Gloucestershire in our new blog area.

If you are a local buisness, please feel free to contact us if you would like to publish a blog post here about your Gloucestershire buisness.