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Sunderland Echo

July 25, 2006

HEADLINE: Taxis pulled over in safety clampdown

POLICE have checked more than 150 taxis as part of a major operation to make sure all vehicles are licensed and safe for passengers. During random checks, police and council officers stopped 161 Hackney and private hire cabs as part of late night Operation Engine. Carried out over two separate nights, 19 drivers were issued with suspension notices leading to their vehicles being taken off the road until they are deemed roadworthy again.

A further 19 seven-day notices were handed out for offences such as failing to display badges or not possessing the correct documentation. Police have also questioned three private hire taxi drivers in relation to illegally picking up customers from the city centre. Sergeant Colin Bell, from Sunderland police, said: "The aim of the operations is to ensure all taxis are working legally and their vehicles are in a suitable condition. "We want to offer reassurance to members of the public using taxis that safety is our first priority."

Police, representatives from Sunderland City Council's licensing department and workers from the Vehicle and Operations Service Agency (Vospa) took part in the checks. Patrol cars were parked at North Hylton Road and St Michael's Way, Sunderland, with taxi drivers randomly pulled over between 10pm and 3am on weekend nights. In the past Hackney cab drivers in the city have complained about private hire vehicles poaching customers by picking up on the city centre streets, a practice police are anxious to clamp down on. The majority of drivers pulled over were happy to co-operate with the five-minute checks before carrying on with their journeys. Sgt Bell added: "Every driver pulled over is issued with documents showing they have been checked and that everything was fine."

The first series of checks were carried out on Saturday, June 17, with a follow-up operation taking place last Saturday. More than 50 drivers will now have to return to stations across Sunderland to produce their up-to-date vehicle documents. Police say they will take all necessary action against any cabs on the road that are unregistered or do not have the correct documents.
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