driver smoking where dc can be seen

[goingroundthebend4]

ok not sure how to handle this or even if anything can do about it.

Ds taxi arrived this morning and opened front door and all could smell was cig smoke , the driver was stood at back of the mpv having a smoke.could be seen from the mpv by another dc and ds.

personally im bit of an rabid antismoker due to person reasons ( lost my dad to smoking related cause )

Just to me i feel he should not be smoking while waiting for dc and more so where he can be seen and that he then in the car stinking of smoke .but am prepared that my views might be colouring this

Do you suspect that he is smoking in the mpv - if so I'm pretty sure this is illegal. May be a first step would be to ask whoever arranges the transport (travel bureau here, not sure if everywhere is the same) what their policy is, and take it from there.

nope -I don't care if people smoke;but NOT when they are working with children and the cab should certainly not smell of smoke-you can have a quiet word with your transport dept.

Thank you,was not sure if my personal views were colouring it and am aware that ds does see people smoke but this just annoys me

no i dont think he is smoking in the mpv when the kids are in it .He better not be because i would kick up major stink.

But its more that he is having to have a cig when picks the dc up.Then climbs in to the front and put it bluntly he stinks of smoke so you can smell it in the vehicle and i can smell smoke on ds when he he comes home of an afternoon though this could be from where he lifts ds in and out so on his clothes and ds carseat stays in the vehicle till the weeeknd

not ideal but not sure he is doing anything "wrong" as such.
He is leving the vehicle, he is on a public street - until its illegal to smoke anywhere in public its probabily not against any rules. Especially if he works for a contract company rather than a council direct employee.

FWIW the bus drivers that do the school bus runs (nt kids mainly) here are often seen leaning on their vehicles smoking before the kids get on.

Not nice but if he is otherwise a good, reliable driver that you trust to transport your ds safely i would leave it alone.

one of dd's drivers does this.
tbh he is such a good bloke and so nice to her, I don't care.

anon hes not on public ground he is on my drive as the bus pulls onto it.Yes its a contract team

As drivers/escorts go no personally i dont think they are good .escort does not interact with the kids at all and the driver had hump with me last week as despite the other 2 dc on the bus being of due to weather .
i made him come for ds after letting him get away with it for one day .We had a dusting of snow and the main roads were fine infact most roads were

well, you can ask him not to smoke on your drive, but if you have other concerns then perhaps you can bring it up as part of a more general chat wiht the transport people/school.

There are two issues here:

should he smell of smoke/risk exposing dcs to passive smoking?

should he smoke where he can be seen by dcs?

you need to separate these two: them seeing him won't make the passive smoking any more dangerous

tbh I don't think the second question is relevant at all: a taxi driver is not in a role modelling job like a teacher or a nursery worker, so he has no duty to not be seen doing something that is not illegal

as for the first, it would depend on how much exposure they are getting and I suppose it could be a concern- that you might want to discuss with a medical person

Will do I know the teacher in the unit not happy with them either so do wonder if there not going to get their contract renewed anyway

I think it's not about legality;I would not want a bus driver smoking in my driveway immediately prior to putting my child on the bus-If you have strong views, 'GOING' you are perfectly entitled to bring them up-If you don't want to complain,bring the issue up again with school and ask them to.

If the driver is smoking in the taxi while there are no passengers, I believe he would be committing an offence.

If the taxi is being provided by the local authority then complain to the transport section and ask them to inspect the vehicle.

I work with adults with learning difficulties, and I am only "allowed" to smoke on my official break. As I do a lot of lone working, if I nip outside for a fag it's not a problem - but I don't take my hour long official break anyway as it's too disruptive for my client to organise cover, and he's lovely anyway!

AFAIK, he should not be smoking unless on his break. I don't imagine that a school pick up takes more than an hour to an hour and a half anyway - he could reasonably be asked to wait that long, and if he can't he needs to have a serious look at how much he smokes!!

Agree with westvirginia - he should not be smoking in the taxi even if there are no children in it. I think it is classed as a workplace and is therefore illegal.