A TAXI boss has warned East Lancashire’s roads are rapidly becoming unsafe to drive on.

Rossendale Taxi Association chairman Dave Lawrie said the standard of driving is very poor and said his members are putting their lives at risk on a daily basis by just going to work.

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Mr Lawrie, who has been a taxi driver for around 20 years, spoke of seeing drivers doing U-turns in the middle of the road without indicating, motorists forcing other road users to swerve after cutting across lanes on motorways and seeing many people driving recklessly while on their mobile phones.

Supporting the Lancashire Telegraph’s ‘Stop the Madness’ campaign, Mr Lawrie also called for urgent improvements to crumbling roads.

Mr Lawrie, of Newchurch Road, Stacksteads, said: “I think the standard of driving in East Lancashire is very poor.

“The amount of near misses I see on a daily basis is quite staggering. The amount of people who try to overtake on blind bends and the numbers of people who you see driving on their mobile phones completely unaware of what’s going on around them is a disgrace.

“As taxi drivers we spend a lot of time on the road and to be honest a lot of it is young drivers. The standard of driving is definitely getting worse. Dealing with that is becoming part of the job but it means you are always under threat of being seriously injured or killed while out on the road.

“It is rapidly getting to the point where I am questioning whether it really is safe to be on the roads.”

As well as urgent improvements to road surfaces, Mr Lawrie also called for an increase in police officer numbers to ensure dangerous drivers are caught and removed from the roads.

When asked if taxi drivers were contributing to the poor standard of driving on the road, Mr Lawrie, said: “I am not saying that all taxi drivers are perfect drivers or angels because they are not and there are some bad eggs in every industry. But I would say people need to realise all taxi drivers have to sit a driving test again before they obtain their licence.”