Cyclists converge on Addison Lee's offices in 'Die-In' protest

I have a cousin who works in insurance, they tell me that most of the insurance for both hackney and Private Hire has not been validated-has been given on information provided by the driver, taken on face value, so previous claims experience is checked etc.

It's a huge problem that the authorities are aware of, but will not act on.

Thewost culprits are sub-hired vehcles, not owned by the driver individually, or the Taxi-PH Company.

Its estimated that circa 5,000 drivers in TFL fit into this type of category including Chauffeur driven and executive vehicles.
Bikefreak!

Just get him to ride a bike in London for a week

I'm glad there was a good turn-out and sorry my work circumstances prevented my getting there in time. I have, however, just blogged about some of the general issues involved here, should anyone care to think more about the relationship between cycling and money: http://invisiblevisibleman.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/general-theory-of-cycl...

Well done everyone who attended and/or blogged, tweeted or somehow spread the word.

The event itself may or may not have any effect on Mr Griffin's attitude but I sense a growing willingness to make a fuss and be proactive on road safety among cyclists, and I think the message is starting to get through to other road users.

Thanks to AV Lowe for the info on HGVs payment per trip - I didn't know that had largely ended - but it is a fair point that AL driver behavour is conditioned by the way they are paid. I suppose you coudl say that is the "Nuremberg defence" but to be fair, AL drivers are not bad people, they are just pressurised to behave badly.

And "self employed" is a laugh. A hackney cabbie is genuinely self-employed - he owns (or occasionally leases) his own vehicle but his income is received directly from fare paying passengers who he is unlikely ever to deal with again. An AL driver's terms of engagement would, I would have thought, be ruled to be employment under the indicia of the "master-servant relationship" developed in court cases such as Fall v Hitchen. That would require AL to pay full social security contributions, which would give drivers a safety net for unemployment or sickness, and to apply PAYE to their tax - as it is, I suspect a driver could simply up sticks and return to his own country in central Europe at the drop of a hat.

Which is another point. I am sure they have proper driver qualifications recognised under EU harmonisation principles, and most that I have met speak passable English, but they don't know London like the backs of their hands, like a cabbie does.

Don't forget that Mr Griffin doesn't actually employ the guys who drive his cars - they lease the cars from him, and have to take the jobs his company allocates, in order to make the money to pay the lease costs. He can thus distance himself from driver behaviour (and drop a driver like a lead balloon if there is a problem)

Unlike taxis (with metered time and distance) they are paid per job. More jobs = more ability to pay for the cab and the fuel and perhaps a living wage. Unlike HGV and PSV the drivers hours are not regulated, and we've largely stamped out the per trip payment system for construction site HGV work, which made them so dangerous.

I hope people are going to the Met Police RoadSafe website to report infractions (not just from Addison Lee): http://www.met.police.uk/roadsafelondon/

What's a flood warden?

Mr Griffin appears to accept the old adage 'there's no such thing as bad publicity', perhaps he will eventually change his mind.

Perhaps if people who are cut up by the Addison Lee vehicles could note the registration numbers of the cabs and then complain directly to the firm stating the time and the place of the incident this would also pass on a message. I expect Mr Griffin is now wondering how he can get out of this mess he has created. On his past record, I doubt it'll be through by recognising that his original comments were based on ignorance of the facts.

Next from John Griffin: keep death off the road, drive on the pavement!

Well done to all who attended. Although this is a separate issue to the recent protests in London there does seem to be some real momentum for the general cause of safer cycling.

What a complete pillock that bloke is. I love the idea of him gonig back into his office and thinking he hadn't thought the idea through.

My experience of AL drivers is not that bad but in general mini cabs have awful drivers. Apart from the boss's idiotic rants and directives perhaps AL cars are just more identifiable than the usual 'under the arches' mini cabs?

Why stop there? ..... pavements are ideal for taxis too!

i wonder why mr griffin stops at bus lanes? addison lee cabs can also be found in bike lanes and advanced stop boxes