Taxi Driver Online

Council crackdown on unsafe taxis

Blackpool Council and the Police are to carry out more safety checks in a bid to crack down on hackney cabs and private hire vehicles in Blackpool that are not considered to be roadworthy.

Random safety checks already carried out on Blackpool’s taxis have helped to prompt a reduction in the number of defective vehicles operating within the town.

Four multi-agency operations have been performed since June 2005 and of the 41 vehicles that were tested, 26 have been taken off the road and 14 defect notices have been issued where owners were given five days to rectify the problems. Only one of the vehicles was found to have passed all the tests.

These operations are designed to ensure the safety of the public and are performed at busy times when the public are put at greatest risk, i.e. weekend nights. Marked police cars are being used to randomly stop vehicles that will be directed to a depot in Layton where they will undergo safety checks.

The licensing enforcement officers, along with uniformed police officers and other licensing staff, will be at the depot where the vehicles are submitted to a full ‘pit test’ that includes a rolling road to check braking imbalance, a meter calibration test and a thorough examination of the whole vehicle including the underside.

Vehicles found to have serious defects that would normally result in MOT failure are issued with prohibition notices and suspended from use. Immediate suspension of some of Blackpool’s taxis has been due to things such as faulty brakes and steering, exposed wiring, defective lights and faulty seatbelts.

Cllr Fred Jackson, Portfolio Holder for Urban Environment, says: “The message is that anyone putting public safety at risk will be removed from the road and stopped from continuing their business until safety is ensured. This is one of the most robust campaigns occurring anywhere in the country and aims to drive standards up.

“Taxi operators are advised to take note that the council places a high regard on protecting the public and these ongoing operations will increase in the run up to Christmas.”

The message from the council is that anyone putting public safety at risk will be removed from the road and stopped from continuing their business until safety is ensured.

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IDFIMH

Really ?????

If that was the case then how did the trade get to the state that only one out of forty-one passed?

So please no pious preaching from councillors, cos it's your bloody fault in the first place.

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IDFIMH

The whole story is just typical spin from officialdom.

You could apply this scenario to many walks of life - neglect and incompetence leads to a detrimental scenario, then those responsible launch some big 'crackdown', blame the situation on other people and make out that they are doing the public one massive favour.

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