The Raleigh Clothing Police are out for Cabbies

This has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a very, very long time.  There is now a dress code for cab drivers in Raleigh.  Seriously.

Short shorts, miniskirts, short dresses, T-shirts, tank-tops and flip-flops can no longer be worn by cab drivers under a dress code the Raleigh City Council approved Tuesday.

What exactly is the definition of a “short short”?  Will Raleigh police officers be given tape measures to determine the appropriate length of shorts and skirts of cab drivers?  And no T-shirts or flip-flops?  Raleigh cabbies now have a tougher dress code than many of the trendy night clubs in NY and LA.

Oh it gets better.  The city feels the need to police a cabbie’s choice in footwear but a cabbie’s legal status is of no importance to the city.

The council initially approved a provision that would have allowed city staff to deny permits to applicants who weren’t U.S. citizens but deleted that clause during a Tuesday evening vote.

And where did all this nonsense originate?  From the lone supposed conservative Republican member of the Raleigh City Council, Phil Isley, who was apparently forced to ride in a cab whose driver was shirtless.  Apparently none of the other 116 registered cab companies or 902 registered cab drivers could give him a ride, he just had to ride with that one driver.

So instead of using his free choice to not get into a car with a driver whose hygiene he saw as unacceptable, he felt the need to regulate the industry.  Unbelievable.