Screen ology and Screenerism

[watty]

I got a FN screen (but I'm still not working).  It's only held on with 2 plastic ties wrapped around the headrests.  It took them maybe 30 secs to put it in.

I'm sure Belker has some plastic ties lying around in his boot  but anyone else could just take off the headrests, remove the whole lot (ties included), and then reinsert the FN screen after the suitability.

[Rat Catcher]

My current booking is for Tuesday (16th) at 1100 hours IST. Did you find out if they comply with all relevant guidelines / standards? They obviously offer no protection against a knife - there's been a few fairly recent cases of white lads with Dublin accents robbing taximen at knifepoint in South and West Dublin - but how would you rate the overall quality?

[Shallowhal]

I'm sure Belker has some plastic ties lying around in his boot 


Any self respecting taxi driver worth his salt has cable ties in the boot!!

[watty]

@RC: I dunno - still thinking about it.  For €50, it's temporary and ok for the moment.  If it becomes popular, it'll be worth it.  If not, it's 'only' €50.  Spent that on masks, wipes & masks also.

Re regs/standards:  I'd dunno.  The regs are so vague as to be meaningless.  I'll be taking it out for suitability.

It's 1mm thick & held on with 2 plastic ties.  It goes straight across the back of the front seats so sticks out a bit at the doors. 
- I could potentially see people hitting themselves (or their kids) against it getting in and having a claim.  Depends on what part of the city you work in, I guess.
- In my taxi, it's doable but slightly awkward to reach the window button.  YMMV.  Blind people might have a problem with it?
- There's a bit of glare off it & you 'see' it out of the corner of your eye.  I'll get used to it, I guess.

I'm more concerned about masks.  Wore one today to see what it's like & my glasses steamed up after 5 secs.  Not sure if I'll be able to drive wearing one!

Re the Dubs robbing taxis, I'd say that junkies targeting non-white taxi drivers.

[Rat Catcher]

Essentially, what do you want for €50 is a fair exec summary I guess. Take your glasses off to fit the mask and pinch the metal band to form a tight nose bridge... should solve the steaming.

[watty]

None of my masks have a metal band    Think I have a funny (Roman) nose anyways.  Had to wear masks before and never could find one that fitted properly.  Ah sure, I've 2 or 3 weeks to figure it out.

[silverbullet]

Interested if the screen interferes with the interior camera view some drivers have.

[Rat Catcher]

You could make a nose clip* for them, I guess... or maybe try securing it in the nose bridge on your glasses.

*maybe take the metal bands off some cheap dust masks (the paper ones for DIY) if you can get cheap dust masks these days.

[Belker]

My current booking is for Tuesday (16th) at 1100 hours IST. .......

So that is You, Me and another regular on here all booked in fer 16th June.
We can compare notes about insurance, etc after we have them fitted next Tuesday.

[Belker]

I got a FN screen (but I'm still not working).  It's only held on with 2 plastic ties wrapped around the headrests.  It took them maybe 30 secs to put it in.

I'm sure Belker has some plastic ties lying around in his boot  but anyone else could just take off the headrests, remove the whole lot (ties included), and then reinsert the FN screen after the suitability.

The person in NTA that gave me my suitability booking yesterday said that a letter/email from my insurance company was needed if I had a protective screen fitted and also added that if stopped by a Taxi regulator on the street I would also need to produce same letter/email.

So basically taking it on and off is a non starter fer many reasons;
Firstly the apps and dispatchers will soon be offering Screened cabs and if you turn up without a screen then Dolly Daydream will report you.
Secondly if you take it on and off to pass suitability then you run the risk of getting stopped on the street by a Taxi regulator.
And Thirdly (God forbid) you have a serious accident with a screen in place that has not been cleared with your insurance company.

The easier option I think at the moment is just to get it cleared with your insurance company and work legally.

[john m]

@RC: I dunno - still thinking about it.  For €50, it's temporary and ok for the moment.  If it becomes popular, it'll be worth it.  If not, it's 'only' €50.  Spent that on masks, wipes & masks also.

Re regs/standards:  I'd dunno.  The regs are so vague as to be meaningless.  I'll be taking it out for suitability.

It's 1mm thick & held on with 2 plastic ties.  It goes straight across the back of the front seats so sticks out a bit at the doors. 
- I could potentially see people hitting themselves (or their kids) against it getting in and having a claim.  Depends on what part of the city you work in, I guess.
- In my taxi, it's doable but slightly awkward to reach the window button.  YMMV.  Blind people might have a problem with it?
- There's a bit of glare off it & you 'see' it out of the corner of your eye.  I'll get used to it, I guess.

I'm more concerned about masks.  Wore one today to see what it's like & my glasses steamed up after 5 secs.  Not sure if I'll be able to drive wearing one!

Re the Dubs robbing taxis, I'd say that junkies targeting non-white taxi drivers.

You say "I could potentially see people hitting themselves (or their kids) against it getting in and having a claim. " So you and the manufacturers and installers and promotors are aware that there is a dangerous design flaw yet you consider using one of these screens ? Big Dommos sisters will all have claims in before Tuesday Fortnight .Has anybody actually done a Suitability with one of these fitted and passed ?

[john m]

I got a FN screen (but I'm still not working).  It's only held on with 2 plastic ties wrapped around the headrests.  It took them maybe 30 secs to put it in.

I'm sure Belker has some plastic ties lying around in his boot  but anyone else could just take off the headrests, remove the whole lot (ties included), and then reinsert the FN screen after the suitability.

The person in NTA that gave me my suitability booking yesterday said that a letter/email from my insurance company was needed if I had a protective screen fitted and also added that if stopped by a Taxi regulator on the street I would also need to produce same letter/email.

So basically taking it on and off is a non starter fer many reasons;
Firstly the apps and dispatchers will soon be offering Screened cabs and if you turn up without a screen then Dolly Daydream will report you.
Secondly if you take it on and off to pass suitability then you run the risk of getting stopped on the street by a Taxi regulator.
And Thirdly (God forbid) you have a serious accident with a screen in place that has not been cleared with your insurance company.

The easier option I think at the moment is just to get it cleared with your insurance company and work legally.

Firstly the apps and dispatchers will soon be offering Screened cabs and if you turn up without a screen then Dolly Daydream will report you.REPORT YOU TO WHO .

[Belker]

....... You say "I could potentially see people hitting themselves (or their kids) against it getting in and having a claim. " So you and the manufacturers and installers and promotors are aware that there is a dangerous design flaw yet you consider using one of these screens ? Big Dommos sisters will all have claims in before Tuesday Fortnight .Has anybody actually done a Suitability with one of these fitted and passed ?

NTA guidelines at the moment are that if you have a letter/email from your insurance company to say the screen is safe or whatever, then it will pass suitability.

[john m]

Four Goldmines On the River
Across From the Drugs Treatment Center
Dublin 1

Me lord My client entered a cab fitted with a plastic partition and there was a jagged edge protruding on which she scraped her dermus Melord and it is this scratch that led to the infection for which she is seeking 100k in damages me lord as it was her shoplifying arm that was infected .

Mr taxi driver your mercenary self serving approach to passenger safety lead to this accident a badly fitting piece of plastic that you have no expertise in operating and a cleaning regime that is somewhat questionable .Driver if I go for a shit in the toilet in my local gargler I often find a list taped to the door that shows how often the Shitter is checked and cleaned .Did you operate such a scheme to sanitise your screen and clean out the Corona Crate that you built in the back of your car .Do you have any airflow charts to show what impact your screen had on the vehicles ventilation and if this actually helped or hindered  transmission to both yourself and your passenger .Will you be calling Dr Houlikan into court today to defend the fitting of this plastic wall as there is absolutely no reference to fitting of screens to taxi cabs and theit value to virus protection ,in fact the NTA have said there is no value to fitting such screens ,

I made probably the only screen that met all the suggested protocolls suggested by the taxithingey but I still wont be replacing it as replacing it would require me operating a sanitising regime that would be questionable in a court of law if anybody was to question my maintainance regime like do I clean the screen after ever journey or on an ad hoc basis .You fit it your responsible for it .

[Belker]

......Firstly the apps and dispatchers will soon be offering Screened cabs and if you turn up without a screen then Dolly Daydream will report you.
REPORT YOU TO WHO .

Report you to the app provider or dispatch company that they ordered a Screened Taxi from.

To explain further, say an app company offers drivers discounted screens, some drivers take the discounted screen offer and then the app company offers its customers a Screened Taxi service, Dolly Daydream orders her screened Taxi and Joe Bloggs shows up without a screen, because he didn't like it fer whatever reason and took it off. Dolly gets in a huff and reports Joe to the app company, who have supplied Joe with a discounted screen and offers his services as a Screened cab.
What do you think the app company are going to say to Joe ?