Our Fleet

Policy Aims

The company recognises the need to safely maintain its operation during adverse weather conditions, whilst maintaining its duty of care.

The policy is intended to provide guidance within which these circumstances can be dealt with effectively ensuring all drivers are treated fairly and consistently.

Policy Statement

The company will use appropriate methods of informing drivers and customers of changes to operations in the event of adverse weather conditions.
Any driver should inform the fleet manager should they feel that their personal safety and/or that of others is at risk in the event of adverse weather conditions.
All drivers are expected to make every effort to cover their shift as normal unless they feel it is unsafe to do so.

Accident Incident Investigation Guidelines

To investigate accidents/incidents, write report and implement corrective actions to prevent a similar incident occurring in the future the following guidelines will be of assistance. Note that these are guidelines and are not comprehensive and it will not always be necessary to consider all the points.

Obtain General Information

Determine the names of injured and any witnesses/people early on the scene. Record the extent of injury/damage/disruption.

Has anything been altered since the accident?

Determine what the layout of the area – make a sketch/take photographs if applicable.

The time, location and environmental conditions (lighting, obstruction, weather conditions)

Obtain witness statements

Name, contact details and occupation.
What were their observations and reactions – No one has this authority other than the police.

Establish Circumstances

What was occurring at the time and what happened?
What were the events leading to the accident?
What would have been the worst probable outcome?
Are there previous examples of this incident happening before?

Identify and implement measures to prevent a recurrence

Could the outcome have been more serious and what prevented that from happening?
What needs to be done to prevent a recurrence?

Depending on the nature/severity of the complaint the driver would initially be requested to attend the office for interview.
Should the complaint relate to drugs, alcohol, or any nature of gross misconduct the drivers data unit should immediately be disabled and driver asked to attend the office.
After interviewing the driver and a full investigation being made a decision as to what action if any should be taken. I.e:

■ No action
■ Verbal warning
■ Verbal warning and refund to customer
■ Suspension
■ Termination of association with Rainbow City Taxis
■ Depending on nature of offence and outcome the Taxi Inspection Centre to be informed

All incidents to be logged in drivers data base.
If the complaint was deemed valid, information would immediately be passed to the Licencing authority.

Drivers must:

■ Never drive while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medication
■ Make arrangements so they do not need to drive if they will be drinking alcohol
■ Avoid drinking alcohol at anytime, especially if they know they will be driving later
■ Be aware that they may still be over the limit, or affected by alcohol the morning after they have been drinking
■ Be aware that prescription drugs or over-the-counter medicines can affect driving and can cause drowsiness
■ Report drug or alcohol problems, including cautions, summons or convictions for alcohol or drug related offences, to the fleet manager
■ Co-operate with monitoring, reporting and investigation procedures

In recent years severe weather conditions have adversely affected some driver’s ability to work therefore this policy has been developed to cover situations, such as heavy snow, flooding or severe weather warnings.

100% of all Rainbow City Taxi drivers are self employed and it is each individual drivers decision to make an informed judgement in adverse weather conditions.