With the festive season now in full swing, it is expected that thousands of us will be kicking off our festive celebrations this Christmas in style. Whether it’s a work night out in the city centre or drinks with friends at the local pub, the government are advising us to plan our journey home in advance.
Prior to your night out it is advised that you and your fellow Christmas party-goers decide how you are going to get home in advance. This may mean one of you becoming the designated driver, and sticking to non-alcoholic drinks for the evening. You might want to nominate one of your partners to take you to and from the Christmas party; not only does this save you from spending hours in a taxi queue, it also saves you money, as a lot of taxi’s up their fee around this time of year.
If you do choose to brave the taxi queues you need to make sure that the taxi you are travelling home in is actually a fully licensed and registered taxi. If the taxi is both of the above it will have the drivers I.D clearly displayed in the cab. This is extremely important – if you travel in an un-licensed taxi you are putting yourself in danger, and you may not even be covered by their insurance (if they even have any!)
Christmas is the busiest season for taxi drivers, so although they may want to work all hours possible to make extra money, they need to take regular breaks to ensure the safety of their passengers. When you travel in a taxi you expect to have a safe journey home, and you expect the driver to stick to all of the legal driving regulations, such as the speed limits and stopping at red lights.
If you are unfortunate enough to become involved in a taxi accident this Christmas, there are a number of things you should do:
- Take note of the drivers ID badge number and name, along with their contact number, and the make and registration of their vehicle. You should also take note of the company the driver works for.
- If another vehicle was involved in the accident, you should also take their name and contact number along with the make and registration of their vehicle.
- If you have suffered injuries after the accident you should seek medical attention. They will then be able to diagnose any injuries you have sustained. It is important you make your GP aware of how you suffered your injuries; they will then make a note of this in your medical records, which will come in useful if you do choose to make an injury compensation claim.
Some people may choose not to claim as they are unaware of their rights as a passenger in the vehicle. However, as a passenger in a taxi, it is unlikely that you will have had any involvement in causing the accident, and you should therefore be able to make a successful injury compensation claim.
