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Cabbie banned for guide dog bar
Topic Started: Jun 9 2007, 03:18 PM (246 Views)
Steelstallions
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http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6735771.stm

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A cab driver who refused to let a blind customer bring her guide dog into his car has been disqualified from driving.
Liakath Ali, 21, shouted "no dog" at Paula Thomas, of London, leaving her distraught as she tried to enter the taxi, Westminster magistrates heard.

It has been compulsory for licensed taxi drivers to carry guide dogs since the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Ali, of Woodstock Road, Bedford, was banned for seven days for refusing to carry a person with a guide dog.

District Judge Quinton Purdy rejected Ali's claim he has an allergy to dog hair and told him he behaved disgracefully.



Dont know what to think about this one
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wickedwitch
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Tricky one. As the law states that is compulsory for all taxi drivers to carry guide dogs then he should be aware of that and if indeed he does have an allergy to dog hair perhaps he should have considered an alternative form of employment? <think>
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Norbert
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wickedwitch,Jun 9 2007
04:23 PM
if indeed he does have an allergy to dog hair perhaps he should have considered an alternative form of employment? <think>

So does that mean anyone with an allergy to dog hair can't have a job on the off-chance a dog might come near them?
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wickedwitch
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No, what I meant was that as the law stands, he is obliged to carry guide dogs in his cab, regardless of what allergies he may have.

Obviously, the law doesn't take into consideration the fact that not only the cabbies may be allergic to dog hair but also subsequent passengers - perhaps there needs to be a re-think so that certain cabs can be dog-free?
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Norbert
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Some of these DD laws are pathetic. If I was a cabbie, I'd be really peed off if I was forced to take a dog because of the hair making a mess of the cab. Let's face it, a very large percentage of guide dogs are Labs, and as an owner in the past I can tell you that the hair gets everywhere, very quickly. I'm sure I could go and retrieve* some from our living room despite the fact that our lab ceased to be about five years ago. The trouble is, the law says that you are descriminating against the blind person, when in fact, you are descriminating against the dog due to the hair that will be left behind.

At my railway, we'll be stuffed up a bit by it too. At present, the so-called 'heritage' (ie preserved) lines are exempt from the DD act, but in the next few years will also be required to comply. At present, at least one of the sets of coaches out on each operating day is equipped to carry disabled passengers. When the law in enforced, *every* set will be required to comply - really handy when some are over a hundred years old, priceless and unique. Nonetheless, we will be required to either destroy their authenticity or not use them because of this law that caters for the miniscule number of disabled persons who turn up, which I think is a bit much. All the buildings and services are already compliant with these regs, and a good number of less historically valuable vehicles have been modified, but this is not good enough.

However, the 'real' railways are allowed to ban cyclists - isn't this discrimiation as well? The last time the London-Brighton bike ride was staged, Southern and SWT both banned bikes *totally* for the whole day. Only a decade or so ago, the then BR actually ran special trains, including some spcecialy modded to carry vast quanitites of bikes!
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