Taxicab or limo? Driver requirements differ

The brutal murder of a Lewes-area woman, allegedly at the hands of a local taxicab driver, has raised questions about what’s required to be a cab driver.

Unfortunately, the victim rode in a limousine, and for her that might have made all the difference. The rules are different for taxis – which have trip meters inside and top-hat lights on their roofs – and hired vehicles that don’t have such equipment. Those vehicles are limousines.

Leslie D. Small, 51, of Milton, was arrested Nov. 13, charged in connection with the Nov. 12 first-degree murder of June McCarson, 78, a resident of Donovan Smith mobile home park who frequently got rides from the company Small worked for.

The park is on Donovan Street just west of Lewes city limits.

According to court records, Small stabbed McCarson to death after giving her a ride in a vehicle owned by Comfort Ride Taxi to her bank, where he saw her withdraw cash, then to a beauty salon and a pharmacy. The cab company is based on Route 9 just west of Five Points.

Is it a taxicab or limousine?

With his criminal record for violent crimes – court records indicate Small had been convicted on two counts of first-degree robbery, one count of second- degree robbery and one count of terroristic threatening in 2005 – Small couldn’t legally have driven a taxicab.

Russell Holleger, audit and compliance operations manager with the Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles Office of Common Carrier, said individuals must meet state requirements before they can obtain a Class Z driver license endorsement allowing them to drive a taxicab.

Small’s record would have made it impossible to pass checkpoint one – a comprehensive criminal background check conducted by Delaware State Police. Holleger said for the background check, state police take the applicant’s full handprint and look back as far as records go to check for criminal histories.

Individuals must also pass the state motor vehicle department’s written driver test.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old and must have taken a defensive driver course and pass a written test on the material.

Additionally, applicants must not have had any driver license revocations during the previous five years. “But there’s not a specific test for taxicab drivers,” Holleger said.

He said anyone driving a taxicab with a meter must meet all of the Class Z license requirements.

But Holleger said the same doesn’t apply to limousine drivers – who used to be required to obtain what was once called a chauffeur’s license in Delaware.

The basic Class D driver license – held by most motorists – is all that’s required to drive most limousines, he said. Holleger said only some types of limousines – super-stretches and those capable of accommodating high occupancies – require drivers to have special license classifications. Holleger said the state doesn’t require cab drivers to undergo drug testing, although if they wanted to, cab companies could implement random drug testing. However, he said no taxicab company in the state does so.

Court records indicate Small has a history of illegal drug use. Records indicate that although he was to serve a mandatory three-year sentence at Sussex Correctional Institution for the robbery conviction, he was released from the facility six months early.

According to court records, Small, who is HIV-positive, wrote several letters to Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves, seeking early release because medication to treat him was unavailable in prison.

Holleger said the motor vehicle department’s office of audit and compliance has been working with state police investigators in an examination of Comfort Ride Taxi’s operations.

Holleger said his office is also conducting an independent investigation to determine if any of its procedures or policies could be improved.

Change is needed

Vincent Manuele, Comfort Ride Taxi owner, said Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) auditors visited the company’s offices last week and reviewed trip sheets and insurance and driver records.

“They found everything in compliance,” he said.

Manuele said to the extent that he could, he performed a background check on Small and had him submit to urinalysis before hiring him to drive a limousine for Comfort Ride Express, which offers transportation at prearranged, flat rates.

He said flat rates lower costs for customers and provide alternatives to buses and taxis.

Manuele said demand for transportation in Sussex County – and throughout the state – is growing, and he’s opened a second dispatch office in Dewey Beach.

He said the fact that a woman was murdered, allegedly by one of his drivers, saddens and upsets him.

“I want the public to know that we did our part, and DelDOT did their part. Sometimes things like this happen. But I do follow the law,” he said.

Manuele said he’s driven or owned taxicabs for 25 years. He said in Islip, N.Y., where he’s from originally, taxicab and limousine companies are closely monitored and regulated.

“In Islip, the town does the background check and issues the hack license,” he said.

He said Islip has also has a taxi and limo inspector who continuously checks the vehicles.

Manuele said in New York City, the Taxi Limousine Commission – TLC – is also a very strong industry regulator.

“DelDOT’s got to realize that the population is growing, and in the state of Delaware there’s another taxi company opening every month,” he said.

Manuele said DelDOT must begin enforcing existing taxicab regulations. “They’re saying they don’t have the staff to enforce the law,” he said.

Manuele said DelDOT auditors have offered rewritten taxicab and limousine regulations, which would include standardized driver requirements and special license plates indicating that a vehicle is a limousine.

He the state Legislature could adopt those revised regulations next year, but enforcement would still be an issue.