Terms & Conditions for Taxi Assessments

Your must:

  • Present before the commencement of your test a valid Photocard UK driving licence.

  • Your licence should be at your current address.

  • If you are in possession of a valid “Old Style” paper licence then you will need to bring an acceptable form of photo identification. We recommend a Passport.

  • Eyesight must conform to current legislation (20m / 68ft) so if you require glasses /contact lenses then bring these with you. Please note that if you fail the eyesight test the Assessment will be marked as a fail.

  • You must provide a vehicle for the Assessment, please ensure that the vehicle is fuelled to cover a minimum of 50miles.

  • The vehicle must be in a roadworthy condition and comply with current road legislation i.e. taxed, MOT (if required), insured for the purpose of the assessment, meet current DVLA rules for number plates and be fit for purpose i.e. for carrying passengers.

  • The vehicle must be right hand drive, have less than 9 seats, weigh no more than 3.5t, have 4 wheels, have head restraints in all seats and have an unobstructed rear window.

  • A van or a convertible car is not classed as a suitable vehicle for a Taxi Assessment. You can not use any car that is on the DVSA list of cars you cannot use.

Candidates are NOT PERMITTED to take the driving assessment in a Private Hire or Hackney plated vehicle except under express permission of the local authority.

The interior of the vehicle should be clean and free of all types of litter and clutter.

Your Examiner / Assessor will wait a maximum of 5 minutes before marking your test failed. You will not receive a refund if you are late.

Appropriate footwear should be worn, we recommend no flip flops, sandals, or high heels.

Your Vehicle should be smoke free, please ensure if you do smoke in your vehicle that it is well ventilated and not smoked in prior to the test. Our Examiners will only work in a smoke free environment and reserve the right to refuse tests in vehicles that smell of smoke. This is at their absolute discretion and no refunds will be given if a test is refused for this reason.

Warning lights:

Please be aware that the examiner / Assessor will not take a vehicle to test that has Warning lights illuminated. Each light will be judged on its merits but please be aware that if a test is refused due to warning lights there will be no refund given.

This is at the Examiners absolute discretion and no refunds will be given if a test is refused for this reason.

Cancellations

If tests are required to be changed or cancelled, then this must be done giving 5 clear working days. As an examples:

Friday tests must be cancelled no later than the preceding Friday.

Tuesday tests must be cancelled no later than the preceding Tuesday.

A Working day is defined for the purpose of these terms and conditions as:

Monday – Friday between 9:30am – 5pm.

If you cancel or amend a test after the latest time to change has passed, you will need to pay for another assessment in full.

COVID-19 Additional Assessment Requirements

Symptoms – If you have symptoms of Coronavirus DO NOT attend your driving assessment.

If you attend and display symptoms the Assessor has the right to terminate the booking. It is possible that the Examiner may ask to take your temperature to check for symptoms.

You will need to rebook at the full fee once you are symptom-free.

Facemasks

These are now not compulsory but can be worn by either the examiner or the candidate. You must remove the mask to ensure Identification can take place.

We strongly recommend that you:

• Maintain social distancing where possible, Weather permitting initial conversations and debriefs will be conducted outside the vehicle.

• Wear clothing layers to ensure that you are able to maintain a comfortable temperature during your assessment.

The Assessor will:
 
• Conduct the assessment in a manner that allows for social distancing, where possible.

• Ask a candidate wearing a covering to remove it for the purposes of identification, if required

• Will use cleaning materials to clean contact points in the vehicle

• Ask the candidate to return to the starting location and conclude an assessment early if the candidate commits a Serious, Dangerous or accumulates more than 9 Driving Faults

The Taxi Assessment

Please allow 1 hour for the assessment. You will be asked 2 maintenance related questions (show me / tell me) and be expected to drive for approximately 40 minutes on a variety of road types and be asked to perform 2 reversing manoeuvres with the possibility of an emergency stop. You will be asked to drive independently of directions for approximately a 10-15 minute period following road signs, directions or a Sat Nav to a particular destination. There will be a 10 to 15 minute debrief at which point you will be advised of the result.

A maximum of 9 minor driving faults are allowed. If you exceed 9 minor driving faults or commit any serious or dangerous faults, this will result in a failure.

Please note that if you take your Assessment in an automatic, you may not be licenced by your authority to drive a manual vehicle.

From time to time, a Senior Assessor may sit in during an Assessment for quality control purposes.