Fined for displaying the Tricolour

oisindoyle · 16-02-2009 7:03pm #1

A taxi driver was fined 250 euro by the taxi regulator for having a tricolour sticker on his roof sign .
Surely this is an infringement of a persons right .
Are we now being penalised for having our national flag displayed?We are only an independent country a short while surely a driver can be proud of his country .Yet the regulator sees otherwise ..
Given the chaos and anger amongst the taxi business ,I fear this is a step too far ..

Ham'nd'egger · 16-02-2009 7:07pm

Oísin, have you a link or source for the tale?

oisindoyle wrote: »

A taxi driver was fined 250 euro by the taxi regulator for having a tricolour sticker on his roof sign .
Surely this is an infringement of a persons right .
Are we now being penalised for having our national flag displayed?We are only an independent country a short while surely a driver can be proud of his country .Yet the regulator sees otherwise ..
Given the chaos and anger amongst the taxi business ,I fear this is a step too far ..

Edit, just seen that people heard it on Joe Duffy.

Mint Sauce · 16-02-2009 7:08pm

oisindoyle wrote: »

A taxi driver was fined 250 euro by the taxi regulator for having a tricolour sticker on his roof sign .
Surely this is an infringement of a persons right .
Are we now being penalised for having our national flag displayed?We are only an independent country a short while surely a driver can be proud of his country .Yet the regulator sees otherwise ..
Given the chaos and anger amongst the taxi business ,I fear this is a step too far ..

heard about this earlier, fear we are going down the same route of whats been happening in the UK, enland in particular of drivers there displaying the flag of st george on the their cars/vans, over fears it may offend a none english person, in this case a none irish person

snubbleste · 16-02-2009 7:09pm

oisindoyle wrote: »

A taxi driver was fined 250 euro by the taxi regulator for having a tricolour sticker on his roof sign .
Surely this is an infringement of a persons right .
Are we now being penalised for having our national flag displayed?We are only an independent country a short while surely a driver can be proud of his country .Yet the regulator sees otherwise ..
Given the chaos and anger amongst the taxi business ,I fear this is a step too far ..

You can't put anything on your taxi plate except a wheelchair symbol and some other symbol. Them is the rules.
I heard that driver on Liveline, it was obvious he put it up to distinguish himself from non-irish taxi drivers.

Alun · 16-02-2009 7:09pm

I'm guessing he was actually fined for having a non-standard roof sign. The fact that it was an Irish tricolour that made it non-standard is irrelevant here, it could just as well have been anything else.

Ham'nd'egger · 16-02-2009 7:17pm

Alun wrote: »

I'm guessing he was actually fined for having a non-standard roof sign. The fact that it was an Irish tricolour that made it non-standard is irrelevant here, it could just as well have been anything else.

A taxi can only have either a contact phone number or a union/taxi association on a taxi roof sign.

Polar101 · 16-02-2009 7:32pm

Maybe he should have put the sticker on his window, and save the fuss. Of course, it is more entertaining to blame it on a foreign conspiracy and call Liveline.

Run_to_da_hills · 16-02-2009 7:34pm

He probably would have got away with had it being the EU flag. :pac:

marmurr1916 · 16-02-2009 7:46pm

So the real story is that a taxi driver has been threatened with a fine for having an unapproved sticker on his sign.

But the attempted spin is that a hard-working, patriotic taxi driver has been penalised in a case of political correctness gone mad, blah, blah, blah...

This guy would have been penalised if he had put one of those radio station stickers on his taxi sign, so the warning is nothing to do with so-called attempts to ban the Irish flag.

A total non-story. :rolleyes:

jeemojney · 16-02-2009 7:51pm

correct !

he started out with the sticker story but then went off rambling about the regulator blah blah blah

wasn't even fined, was threatened with a fine if the inspector saw him again and he hadn't removed the sticker

Sponge Bob · 16-02-2009 8:09pm

LOL , he has a second hand black cab from Belfast does he ??

Is he maybe from the Ivory Coast as they also have a tricolour ???

IIMII · 16-02-2009 10:21pm

To be honest, I liked the old style thinking whereby your flag was you flag, and it was not acceptable to scrawl messages on it, stick it on your mug or tattoo it on your head. That stuff of sticking the flag everywhere but on a flag pole is a pain, and to be honest I'm glad it isn't being stuck on a taxi roof sign. That said, he can get his taxi sign As Gaeilge if he wants, and I'd be delighted to see that

Taxipete29 · 16-02-2009 10:25pm

marmurr1916 wrote: »

So the real story is that a taxi driver has been threatened with a fine for having an unapproved sticker on his sign.

But the attempted spin is that a hard-working, patriotic taxi driver has been penalised in a case of political correctness gone mad, blah, blah, blah...

This guy would have been penalised if he had put one of those radio station stickers on his taxi sign, so the warning is nothing to do with so-called attempts to ban the Irish flag.

A total non-story. :rolleyes:

Totally agree with this. Its this kind of rubbish story that detracts from the real issues within the industry

JayeL · 16-02-2009 10:30pm

oisindoyle wrote: »

A driver can be proud of his country

Gimme a break. We all know Ireland is an independent country, this doesn't imply a right to stick a flag anywhere a taxi driver wants.

There's a time and place for flag-waving; the roof of a Skoda Octavia is not one of these places.

baloonatic · 16-02-2009 10:50pm

I think that the drivers have every right to display a tricolour if they wish. Aside from the original thread story where the fine was fully justified, there is no reason that a driver should not be allowed displaya tricolour or simlilar type sticker. Naturally there are limits but there should be nothing wrong with a business owner advertising that his business is Irish owned and operated. Other businesses do it, why not PSV operators?

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dvpower · 16-02-2009 11:24pm

We should move towards standardisation of the taxi fleet. All the same (range of) make and model and all the same colour (the cars, not the drivers:cool:) .

Punters generally don't care about the drivers nationality, their choice of football team or what their other car is.

oisindoyle · 16-02-2009 11:25pm

I know some drivers have the tricolors to show that they are Irish drivers,who can speak english and have an idea where to go .I have heard a lot of stories recently where the driver has little english and uses the phrase,,"You show I go "

Taxipete29 · 16-02-2009 11:29pm

dvpower wrote: »

Punters generally don't care about the drivers nationality

You are quite naive if you think this is true

Calina · 17-02-2009 12:23am

oisindoyle wrote: »

I know some drivers have the tricolors to show that they are Irish drivers,who can speak english and have an idea where to go .I have heard a lot of stories recently where the driver has little english and uses the phrase,,"You show I go "

presumably you could complain to the Taxi Regulator about this? I know our standards are comparatively low compared to other places with respect to things like the Knowledge in London, for example, but surely to God there has to be some regulation this breaks.

As for the grief over the tricolour I'm all for standardising the roof signs in the way that number plates, for example, are supposed to be standardised. I don't get where the problem is. It's not actually going to make me more likely to support a flag bearing taxi over a non-flag bearing taxi. And I wouldn't use it to interpret "English speaking driver who doesn't need a map to find someplace or other in Dublin". I expect all taxi drivers to be able to do this, after all.

Naive as it may be but that's what I expect from the taxi roof sign first up.

EDIT: By English speaking, I don't necessarily mean native English speaking, but someone who is fluent enough to do business on a day to day basis.

IIMII · 17-02-2009 12:41am

Calina wrote: »

EDIT: By English speaking, I don't necessarily mean native English speaking, but someone who is fluent enough to do business on a day to day basis.

Exactly, because there are few enough English natives driving taxis in this country anyway, and they might want to stick Union Jacks on their taxis, thereby depriving non-native English speaking Irish taxi drivers from getting work

Wishbone Ash · 17-02-2009 12:43am

baloonatic wrote: »

I think that the drivers have every right to display a tricolour if they wish

What you 'think'is irrelevant. The law specifies what can be displayed on a roof sign. The fact that it was a flag is irrelevant and is not the reason for the attention of the taxi regulator's inspectors. It would also be illegal to display a tri-colour on the reg plate.

Aside from the original thread story where the fine was fully justified,

He wasn't fined. He was informed that, should he be found with it in future, he may be fined.

there is no reason that a driver should not be allowed displaya tricolour or simlilar type sticker

He could have displayed it elsewhere on the vehicle if he wanted to. If he doesn't like the regulations, there is noone forcing him to operate a taxi.

gjim · 17-02-2009 2:01am

oisindoyle wrote: »

I know some drivers have the tricolors to show that they are Irish drivers,who can speak english and have an idea where to go .I have heard a lot of stories recently where the driver has little english and uses the phrase,,"You show I go "

A lot, eh? I suspect you've heard one story or a load of made-up b*llox but are happy to regurgitate it for xenophobic reasons. I've had hundreds of taxi journeys in Dublin over the last couple of years and I've had more issues with Irish drivers than with non-Irish drivers. When I want a taxi, I want a car that is well-maintained, comfortable, doesn't smell of cabbage and is run by a driver who doesn't start ranting with off-colour political opinions. When I want to wave a tricolour, I go football match in Croke park.

baloonatic · 17-02-2009 2:04am

I don't think i was too clear,

My point was that the guy made a big deal about the fact that it was a tricolour he was told to remove. In fact, he would have been told to remove anything at all on the taxi plate if it's not a recognised union or dispatch company. No matter what he had on the roof sign, he would have been told to take it off, whether it was a sign which said he loved the TR / Gardai / Daniel O'Donnell, it shouldn't be there.

Secondly I'm aware that a fine wasn't given, but one was justified.

Hope that clears that up

- Steve

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corktina · 17-02-2009 8:28am

IIMII wrote: »

Exactly, because there are few enough English natives driving taxis in this country anyway, and they might want to stick Union Jacks on their taxis, thereby depriving non-native English speaking Irish taxi drivers from getting work

aha he has you by the bollox ther Callina...a hyphen between 'english' and 'speaking' might have done the trick.

Terrontress · 17-02-2009 9:21am

I'd be less inclined to use a taxi where the driver goes to great length to impress on potential customers that he is Irish.

Jumpy · 17-02-2009 9:36am

corktina wrote: »

aha he has you by the bollox ther Callina...a hyphen between 'english' and 'speaking' might have done the trick.

You are implying that english taxi drivers can speak. A HUGE assumption.

Run_to_da_hills · 17-02-2009 10:26am

I have a mate a Taxi driver and she says its illegal to place any poster or flyer on a taxi window that the public may view.

Cookie_Monster · 17-02-2009 11:01am

IT's a pity you aren't allowed to do this sort of thing. The irish flag should be displayed more and people should be prouder of it. What difference to the taxi sign does it make? Absolutly none IMO.

In Dubai they drive around with flags/murals covering the entire back window, but you probably wouldn't get away with that over here either:rolleyes:

Imagine this happening in New York. It'd probably be the opposite, if the driver didn't have at least 16 US flags on the taxi he would be fined for being un-patriotic:D:D

Terrontress · 17-02-2009 3:06pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

IT's a pity you aren't allowed to do this sort of thing. The irish flag should be displayed more and people should be prouder of it. What difference to the taxi sign does it make? Absolutly none IMO.

In Dubai they drive around with flags/murals covering the entire back window, but you probably wouldn't get away with that over here either:rolleyes:

Imagine this happening in New York. It'd probably be the opposite, if the driver didn't have at least 16 US flags on the taxi he would be fined for being un-patriotic:D:D

I've seen taxis in Dublin with the entire back windows obscured with adverts. Wheelchair accessible as well as normal saloons. I'd say drivers don't put flags on there as it doesn't bring in the same revenue as an ad.

There are a specific set of rules concerning taxi signs and they must be met. Simple as. You'll see it elsewhere too. In Belfast, the signs are white on the front, red on the back. They have either the word taxi or the name of their company on the front and either their phone number or a blank space on the rear.

I think it's fair enough to insist on regulations for a taxi sign.

Another issue here is that the driver is trying to entice people into his car over those driven by people not born in Ireland. It's not patriotism which has him displaying it. It's € signs.

You can be proud of your country and its flag without having to plaster it on every available surface.

busman · 17-02-2009 4:16pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

IT's a pity you aren't allowed to do this sort of thing. The irish flag should be displayed more and people should be prouder of it. What difference to the taxi sign does it make? Absolutly none IMO.

In Dubai they drive around with flags/murals covering the entire back window, but you probably wouldn't get away with that over here either:rolleyes:

Imagine this happening in New York. It'd probably be the opposite, if the driver didn't have at least 16 US flags on the taxi he would be fined for being un-patriotic:D:D

There is a government protocol for displaying our national flag

http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/attached_files/Pdf%20files/The%20National%20Flag.pdf

Practices to avoid :
17 The National Flag should never be defaced by placing slogans, logos, lettering or pictures of any kind on it, for example at sporting events.
18 The National Flag should not be draped on cars, trains, boats or other modes of transport; it should not be carried flat, but should always be carried aloft and free, except when used to drape a coffin; on such an occasion, the green should be at the head of the coffin.

While this is for a physical flag, I guess there could be some flexibility in regards to stickers :-)

Run_to_da_hills · 17-02-2009 4:34pm

busman wrote: »

There is a government protocol for displaying our national flag

http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/attached_files/Pdf%20files/The%20National%20Flag.pdf

Practices to avoid :
17 The National Flag should never be defaced by placing slogans, logos, lettering or pictures of any kind on it, for example at sporting events.
18 The National Flag should not be draped on cars, trains, boats or other modes of transport; it should not be carried flat, but should always be carried aloft and free, except when used to drape a coffin; on such an occasion, the green should be at the head of the coffin.

While this is for a physical flag, I guess there could be some flexibility in regards to stickers :-)

Speaking on the subject of flags it is also appalling to see tricolours trampled into the ground and ditched on the side of the road after international sporting events. It doesn't matter if they are made of cheap plastic and sold for E2, a flag is a flag. The Tricolour should never be raised at night nor should be placed lower than any other flag in the vicinity including the EU flag.

Fined for displaying the Tricolour

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