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Taxi driver banned from driving... because he can't use apostrophes
As an experienced cabbie, Laurence Kirk knows his home town like the back of his hand.
But he has been refused permission to resume his old job - because he isn't sure where to place an apostrophe.
He was denied a private hire driver's licence after failing an English exam designed to test his grammar.
Laurence Kirk is being prevented from rejoining the taxi driving ranks
'It's barmy,' said Mr Kirk, a 50-year-old grandfather. 'I have spoken to a number of taxi firms and they are screaming out for drivers. There are so few coming through because of this bureaucracy.'
Mr Kirk was a taxi driver in Bournemouth six years ago but had to give it up because of family commitments.
His private-hire licence has since expired and so he applied to Bournemouth Borough Council for a new one but was told he would have to take a three-hour test.
It was a GCSE English exam, which consisted of 40 questions covering six pages. Mr Kirk, a former scaffolder and roofer, got a mark of 60 per cent - the pass rate was 70.
He said: 'The last time I went to school was 35 years ago and I didn't pass my exams then. If I couldn't pass them then what chance had I of passing one now?
'Most of the questions were, "Where does the apostrophe or semi-colon go in this sentence?" or, "Here are four sentences but which is the right way of writing it?"
'I did my best but it was not enough. So now I can't drive a taxi because I don't know where an apostrophe goes.'
Mr Kirk must now attend a taxpayer funded, four-week, part-time college course studying GCSE English before he can re-sit the exam.
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He said: 'It took me one hour to go to the bank and arrange a £14,000 loan to buy a car so I can earn a living but it is taking me months to get my licence.'
Mr Kirk, from Branksome, Poole, added: 'When I got my licence six years ago I filled in some forms, had a medical and then had a driving test to prove I knew the area and they passed me.'
Bournemouth is the first authority to insist on cab drivers taking a Business and Technical Education Council qualification in 'Transporting Passengers By Taxi and Private Hire'.
In March, the Mail reported that more than 100 cabbies had been suspended after refusing to sign up for college sessions which included advice on how to lift luggage, talk to passengers - and even how to comb their hair.
Steve Wright, principal licensing officer for the council, said the English exam was a way to evaluate the level of support the drivers will need to take the BTEC.
'The test allows us to assess the candidate's abilities and understanding to enable us to offer the right support in order to fulfil the further requirements in gaining their licence. These include a local knowledge test as well as the BTEC required by the council.'
The BTEC for taxi drivers was introduced by the exam board Edexcel in 2005 with the help of the Department for Transport.
It is up to individual authorities to decide whether or not to adopt it as a requirement.
The 50-year-old failed an English grammar test
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