Some of the early Vauxhall London taxi cabs were very similar to horse taxis, the passengers sat in front in a semi open cab, the driver sat on a seat on the back face of the cab and looked over the roof to see the way ahead. Although at that time it was most unseemly to have the driver sit IN Front of the important people, the Vauxhalls were very scary because the passengers had no way of knowing if the driver could see any potential danger. These cabs were soon withdrawn and people just had to deal with the "servant" ahead of them. See Nick Georgano's great little Shire book about the Taxis.
Also Three Wheelers and Morgan by Ken Hill in Shire bookets
