WITH reference to a letter in last week's paper from one T Baker, I have yet to read anything more prejudicial or unfounded. I have been in the taxi trade for 35 years and

WITH reference to a letter in last week's paper from one T Baker, I have yet to read anything more prejudicial or unfounded. I have been in the taxi trade for 35 years and in my experience the majority of drivers are intelligent and respectable family men and women who carry a great deal of knowledge in their heads.The one point I do agree with is that the few spoil it for the many, but why tar everyone with the same brush? Yes, there are a few whose standards could do with a serious overhaul, but I blame the council for that. Instead of penalising the majority by introducing extra testing at extra cost, the council should re-adopt the spot-check system which used to work pretty well. That way they would catch offenders in the act, so to speak. By introducing two tests per year, all that will do is make offenders clean up their act two days a year instead of one!As to the point that taxi drivers only do this job because they can't get another job - vastly untrue. Most of my workforce are at or approaching retirement age and choose not to sit at home and vegetate. Their brains are still sharp and they are perfectly capable of doing a driving job, but may not be able to do a more physical job. This does not mean they should be relegated to an armchair. Who do you know over 50 whom does not have health issues?One final point: is the public aware how much it costs to start up as a taxi driver? Do they know how high their insurance alone is? Yet they have fewer accidents overall so their standard of driving can't be that bad. So don't tell me, T Baker, that taxi driving is a serious business because you have grossly distorted the facts. The truth is, you don't have a clue what you're talking about.J LUCKHAM - High Street, Worle