It is, in fact, illegal to hail a cab while it is in motion – you should go to a rank or a ‘place appointed’
A cabby is supposed to ask each passenger if they have a ‘notifiable disease such as smallpox or the plague’, as it is illegal to carry a sufferer.
It is also illegal for a cabby to carry a a rabid dog or a corpse, so it really is in the best interests of the cabby to ensure his passenger is not going to die in the cab.
It is also the cabby’s responsibility, not the passenger’s, to ensure nothing has been left in the vehicle.
The law required a cabby to carry a bale of hay on the roof of the cab to feed the horse. This law was only repealed in 1976. It is also no longer required to carry a bag of oats.
As a cabby was not allowed to leave his cab on the public highway, the driver was however allowed to urinate in public. He was required to urinate on the rear wheel of the vehicle, with his right hand placed on it. It is not clear how this law would’ve applied to women cabbies…..
Cabbie Rules
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just love your blog, and I send it around the globe……… 🙂 thanks Dawn!
Thank you Moira!
Have you given a thought as to why they had to place their right hand on the wheel while urinating? I would say that it is similar to the muslim habit: “keep your right hand ‘clean’ to eat with”. In this case it could be that they had to ensure having a ‘clean’ hand to give change or to pick up the passenger’s luggage.
Food for thought.
Food for thought indeed! Maybe someone else reading this will know.
This is very enlightening. What strangenesses will they be writing when they write about us in two hundred years’ time?
Really follow all your blog posts .Great post like always.Keep on posting Dawn…
Thank you! I am thrilled you enjoy them! And thank you for your comment – so much appreciated!