Coventry cab drivers could soon be banned from vaping in their vehicles.

Planned changes to licensing regulations on city taxis include forbidding drivers from using e-cigarettes and similar products while getting passengers from A to B.

Vaping on the job is likely to make cabbies seem unprofessional and could distract them from the road, a Coventry City Council report said.

The authority's cabinet member for city services will likely approve the changes at a meeting tomorrow (3 August).

Private hire vehicle drivers and owners, including hackney carriages and pedicabs, who are licensed by the council will be affected by the changes.

"It is currently illegal for anybody to smoke using tobacco products in working premises," officers said in a report.

"Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Vehicles are classified as working premises and it is illegal for anybody to smoke using tobacco products in licensed Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Vehicles.

"Although there is no definitive evidence that Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) products are harmful to the user or cause passive smoking however, private hire drivers and hackney carriage drivers are professional drivers and if using an ENDS product whist driving it is likely to distract from their safe use of the vehicle.

"Passengers perception of a professional driver using ENDS products in a vehicle when waiting for passengers is not likely to create a professional image to their prospective customers."

The move has been discussed at the city's Taxi Forum chaired by the cabinet member of city services, with Unite Union, the representatives of the hackney carriage and private hire trade in Coventry.

Other authorities which have banned cab drivers from using ENDS at the wheel include East Suffolk Council and Mendip District Council.

Vaping while driving is not illegal in the UK but motorists could be prosecuted if it causes them to get into a crash.

Last year, Nick Lloyd, head of road safety at Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, told the Sun newspaper: "Distracted driving is a leading cause of road accidents in the UK.

"Any secondary activity which takes eyes off the road is potentially dangerous.

"As well as being a physical distraction, vaping while behind the wheel can create visibility problems if clouds of vapour are produced.

"Although it is not currently prohibited in law, drivers choosing to vape while on the road is a growing and concerning trend.

"If using an electronic cigarette whilst driving causes a motorist to become involved in a collision, then the activity could be considered careless driving – which is an offence."

One other change to taxi licensing in Coventry is also set for approval tomorrow.

Card payment machines used by drivers will have to be registered correctly – i.e. as "transport" or a similar wording – after a resident was caught out when she tried to pay.

The woman had taken part in the council's car scrappage scheme but wasn't able to pay for her cab with her Yordex Card, which the authority had given her to fund journeys around the city.

"The lady was unable to pay with this card as the card machine was registered as a florist and not as a 'transport' provider or other similar wording, dependant on the card payment machine provider," the report stated.

"It is therefore proposed to add a requirement to the current conditions of licence that card payment machines must be registered as a 'transport' provider or other similar wording dependant on the card payment machine provider."