Taxi Driver Online

Stranraer taxis fail health checks

FIFTEEN taxis in Stranraer have been slapped with police notices after failing checks by a vehicle examiner - two for operating with no MOT certificates.

In the initiative carried out by police in the town, 16 taxis were hoisted onto ramps at Port Rodie police station on November 21st and only one managed to drive off with a clean bill of health.

An examiner from VOSA along with a police officer issued advisory notices on eight of the cars and prohibited five.

As part of an overall vehicle safety drive called Operation Encompass, over a thousand cars were stopped in its first two weeks and 523 offences detected but a check of school buses found only one minor fault on a tyre.

Timber lorries and HGVs using the A75 have shown a drop in tachograph, weight and mechanical offences compared to this time last year and Inspector McCallum said: "This is pleasing to note and it will be interesting to see if this trend continues."

Speeding was an issue during the beginning of the initiative and police caught one man speeding at 65mph in Cairnryan's 30mph zone. He will be reported to the procurator fiscal.

The inspector's report noted that there have been two fatal crashes on Wigtownshire's roads this year compared to none in 2007 but that all other road traffic crash figures are down on last year.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin