Taxi safeguarding test: 20 practice questions and answers (free PDF)

Search for taxi safeguarding questions and you mostly find course adverts. So here are 20 practice questions you can use straight away, each with the answer, the reason and the law it comes from.

One thing to know first: there is no national test. Your council or its training provider sets its own, so the wording and the pass mark will differ. The law behind the questions stays the same, and that is what these cover. For how the tests differ between councils, read our guide to the taxi safeguarding test.

Download the free PDF with the answers on separate pages.

The questions

1. A regular elderly passenger tells you her nephew has been pressuring her to hand over her bank card. Under the Care Act 2014, what does this fall within?

• A. Nothing — it is a family matter outside the Act
• B. A civil dispute between relatives, outside the safeguarding framework
• C. Financial abuse, which the Act includes within abuse
• D. Neglect rather than abuse of any kind

Answer: C. The Act names financial abuse expressly and includes being put under pressure in relation to money or other property, alongside theft, fraud and misuse.

Source: Care Act 2014 · s.42(3)

2. A PHV operator accepts a booking; the driver then refuses it on discovering the passenger has an assistance dog. Who commits an offence?

• A. The operator alone
• B. The passenger's booking agent alone
• C. Nobody, provided an alternative vehicle is sent
• D. The driver

Answer: D. Section 170 places separate offences on operators who refuse bookings and on drivers who refuse to carry out a booking the operator has accepted.

Source: Equality Act 2010 · s.170(3)

3. A non-designated vehicle picks up a wheelchair user. Which section's duties apply?

• A. Section 165
• B. Section 165A alone
• C. No duties apply until the vehicle is designated
• D. Section 164A

Answer: D. Section 165 attaches only where the vehicle is designated and the passenger is in a wheelchair. In every other combination, section 164A applies.

Source: Access to taxis and private hire vehicles for disabled users (Department for Transport) · §12.4

4. A passenger uses a manual wheelchair. Before touching it, what should the driver do?

• A. Nothing — handling the wheelchair is part of the duty
• B. Obtain the user's permission
• C. Photograph it for insurance purposes
• D. Ask the operator to authorise the assistance

Answer: B. The guidance is explicit: a driver should only touch a wheelchair or mobility aid, or give physical assistance, with the user's permission.

Source: Access to taxis and private hire vehicles for disabled users (Department for Transport) · §12.8

5. A driver holds an exemption certificate from the mobility assistance duties. Which duty does the exemption NOT cover?

• A. Refraining from charging disabled passengers extra
• B. Helping the passenger out of the vehicle
• C. Loading a wheelchair into the boot
• D. Securing a mobility aid in the passenger compartment

Answer: A. The exemption reaches only the mobility assistance duties. Every other duty, including the ban on extra charges, continues to apply in full.

Source: Access to taxis and private hire vehicles for disabled users (Department for Transport) · §12.5

6. What should a licensing authority's test of driver proficiency cover?

• A. Both oral and written English language skills
• B. Written English alone
• C. Oral English alone
• D. Neither — proficiency is assessed by the operator

Answer: A. Oral proficiency matters for spotting exploitation through conversation with passengers; written proficiency matters for understanding the guidance.

Source: Statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards (Department for Transport) · §6.4

7. For the purposes of the statutory guidance on safeguarding children, who counts as a child?

• A. Anyone under 16
• B. A person from birth to age 18
• C. Anyone in full-time education
• D. Anyone under 18 who is not living independently

Answer: B. The guidance is explicit that reaching 16, living independently, being in further education, in the armed forces, in hospital or in custody does not change a person's status as a child.

Source: Working together to safeguard children (Department for Education) · Glossary, “Children”

8. Which of these is listed in the statutory guidance as a form of neglect by a parent or carer?

• A. Refusing to allow a child a mobile phone or internet access
• B. Moving house frequently so that the child changes school more than once in a school year
• C. Disagreeing with school staff about the child's progress
• D. Failing to ensure adequate supervision, including the use of inadequate caregivers

Answer: D. The guidance lists food, clothing and shelter; protection from harm; adequate supervision; access to medical care; and suitable education.

Source: Working together to safeguard children (Department for Education) · Glossary, “Neglect”

9. What three things do safeguarding programmes aim to help drivers and operators do, according to the statutory standards?

• A. Detain suspects, gather evidence at the scene, and give statements
• B. Provide a safe and suitable service to vulnerable passengers of all ages, recognise what makes a person vulnerable, and understand how to respond and report
• C. Screen passengers before travel, refuse bookings, and notify insurers
• D. Record every journey, retain in-vehicle CCTV, and share it with the trade

Answer: B. Recognising vulnerability and knowing where to turn are the two halves the standards emphasise; the driver's role is to notice and report, not to investigate.

Source: Statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards (Department for Transport) · §6.2

10. Under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, what can a person be compelled by?

• A. By threats made by another person
• B. By another person or by the person's own circumstances
• C. By physical force alone
• D. By a person who has themselves been convicted

Answer: B. Compulsion by circumstances matters in county lines cases, where debt, fear and isolation do the work that overt threats would otherwise do.

Source: Modern Slavery Act 2015 · s.45(2)

11. What is “cuckooing” in the county lines context?

• A. Using a child's mobile phone to run a dedicated deal line
• B. Recruiting victims at the school gates and in parks
• C. Taking over the home of a vulnerable person and using the property as a base for criminal activity
• D. Concealing drugs inside a vehicle used for the journey

Answer: C. The guidance describes it as a common characteristic of the county lines model, occurring in rental and private properties, student accommodation, prisons and commercial premises.

Source: County lines: criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults (Home Office) · Forms and methods of exploitation

12. Is a victim's consent to travel relevant to the trafficking offence?

• A. Yes — the victim's consent to travel is a complete defence
• B. Yes, where the victim is under the age of sixteen
• C. Yes, where the travel arranged crossed a national border
• D. No — it is irrelevant whether V consents to the travel, whether V is an adult or a child

Answer: D. The Act also spells out that travel may be arranged or facilitated by recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring or receiving the victim, or by transferring control over them.

Source: Modern Slavery Act 2015 · s.2(2)

13. Which reporting route do the statutory standards give alongside the local safeguarding process?

• A. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
• B. The Information Commissioner's Office
• C. Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111
• D. The National Crime Agency switchboard

Answer: C. Crimestoppers offers an anonymous route, which matters where a driver fears being identified by those involved.

Source: Statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards (Department for Transport) · §6.3

14. You report a concern about an adult with care and support needs. What must the local authority then do?

• A. Decide whether to prosecute the person responsible
• B. Make whatever enquiries it thinks necessary to decide whether action should be taken, and if so what and by whom
• C. Remove the adult from their home without delay
• D. Refer the matter to the coroner for investigation

Answer: B. The enquiry duty covers deciding who should act, so the outcome may involve other agencies rather than the authority itself.

Source: Care Act 2014 · s.42(2)

15. According to the statutory guidance, what should a family be told about information that is being shared about them?

• A. They should be told nothing at all, since telling a family would compromise any safeguarding enquiry that follows the referral
• B. They should be given a written copy of the information before it is passed to any other organisation or agency involved
• C. They should be informed after the event in each case, once the referral has been considered by children's social care
• D. They should be told what information is being shared and with whom, as far as it is safe to do so in the circumstances

Answer: D. The guidance sets transparency as the aim and safety as the limit on it: families are told what is being shared and with whom, provided that doing so is safe.

Source: Working together to safeguard children (Department for Education) · Chapter 1, Information sharing (para 33)

16. What makes a taxi or private hire vehicle “designated” for these purposes?

• A. It appears on a list maintained under section 167
• B. It is fitted with a ramp or a swivel seat
• C. Its operator holds an accessibility certificate
• D. It was manufactured as a wheelchair accessible vehicle

Answer: A. Designation is a matter of the licensing authority's published list, not of the vehicle's specification or the operator's paperwork.

Source: Equality Act 2010 · s.164A(4)(a)

17. On what ground may a licensing authority issue an exemption certificate from the assistance dog duties in section 168?

• A. On grounds of the driver's religious belief
• B. On medical grounds
• C. On grounds that the vehicle has fabric upholstery
• D. On grounds of the driver's personal preference

Answer: B. Medical grounds are the only basis, and the authority must have regard in particular to the physical characteristics of the taxi concerned.

Source: Equality Act 2010 · s.169(1)

18. Under section 165, a wheelchair user chooses to transfer to a passenger seat. What must the driver of a designated vehicle do?

• A. Refuse the journey unless the passenger remains in the wheelchair
• B. Carry the wheelchair
• C. Charge for stowing the wheelchair separately
• D. Ask the passenger to arrange separate transport for the wheelchair

Answer: B. The duty follows the passenger's choice: if they sit in a passenger seat, the wheelchair still travels, and no extra charge may be made.

Source: Equality Act 2010 · s.165(4)(c)

19. Under section 164A, does the term “mobility aids” include a wheelchair or an assistance dog?

• A. It includes both, so a wheelchair and an assistance dog each count as a mobility aid
• B. It excludes both — they are dealt with by separate provisions
• C. It includes a wheelchair but not an assistance dog
• D. It includes an assistance dog but not a wheelchair

Answer: B. Mobility aids are defined as any item used to assist mobility, with wheelchairs and assistance dogs expressly carved out. Assistance dogs are covered by sections 168 and 170.

Source: Equality Act 2010 · s.164A(6)

20. Which of these is expressly listed in the best practice guidance as part of disability awareness training?

• A. Basic vehicle mechanics and roadside repairs
• B. First aid certification renewed every three years
• C. The identification and role of assistance dogs
• D. Fare calculation for accessible journeys

Answer: C. The list also covers supporting wheelchair users to board, alight and travel seated in their wheelchair, and how to assist people with visible and less visible impairments.

Source: Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing best practice guidance for licensing authorities in England (Department for Transport) · §6.3

Keep practising

These 20 come from a bank of 114 safeguarding and disability awareness questions. You can try a free 15-question test in your browser, no sign-up needed, or use the app for a short study session every day and timed mocks.

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Practice questions written from legislation and statutory guidance. They are not from any real test. Your licensing authority sets the actual test. Legislation and guidance are Crown copyright and used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.