Taxi drivers...

[thedelbwa]

What is the law on taxi drivers wearing seat belts?? Is it only black cab drivers or all private taxi drivers? And why is this? Why do taxi drivers not have to wear them? Is it because they are above the law...?! Sorry, that must just be the way they drive / don't indicate / do whatever they please....

[CheekyChops]

Taxi Drivers
Hackney Carriage drivers are exempt from wearing seatbelts whilst they are on duty. (i.e. whether they have a passenger or not). Private hire, are only exempt when carrying a fare paying passenger. They must wear a seatbelt at all other times.

Its because of the possible threat to their safety from dangerous passengers, apparently.

[loonytunes]

More or less right. Hackney Carriages never have any other status so are, effectively, always working. The driver needs to wear the seatbelt whenever he is looking for a passenger, going to pick up a passenger or carrying a passenger. At all other times he must wear it. So where a vehicle is waiting at the back of a taxi rank and moving forward to fill up a space which has been created, an unbelted driver will commit an offence as none of the three exemptions will apply.