Police say some Derby taxis are deathtraps after they find serious defects
https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/d ... es-2178298
Corrosion, fractured suspension and loose headlamp discovered
Image: Derbyshire Live/Derbyshire Road Policing Unit
Taxis have had their licences suspended due to defects on their cars after police officers carried out a crackdown on cabs across the city.
Officers from Derbyshire police took to the roads to check the standards of taxis operating in Derby and found several problems in some of the cabs.
As part of their monthly checks on the city’s Hackney Carriage and private hire vehicles, Derbyshire Roads Policing Unit stops vehicles at random and assesses their condition.
Some of the issues found this time around included a fractured suspension, corrosion and a back light not being secure.
Officers carried out their checks for about six hours and stated that they inspected six cars during that time.
Four of these were in a poor state and had their licences suspended, two others had advisories.
What was wrong with the taxis?
There were a number of defects with the cars that had their licences suspended.
One private hire taxi had a fractured suspension coil spring which had become detached from its lower seating point.
Another private-hire cab's battery and headlamp were not secure and the vehicle licence was also not secure in the taxi.
A third private-hire vehicle had low tyre pressures in both front tyres with them standing at 21psi and 24psi, when they should have been at 37psi.
The brake light was also out and a wheel joint was defective.
The final car with defects was a Hackney Carriage which had corrosion within 30cm of the lower rear passenger seat mount. There was a hole in the bottom of the taxi.
Image: Derbyshire Live/Derbyshire Road Policing Unit
The steering idler box was also not secure.
What happened to the vehicles?
Out of the six vehicles inspected, the worst four had their licences suspended and each one was also issued a PG9 prohibition notice.
The other two taxis that were checked during the crackdown were only given advisories.
What is a PG9 prohibition notice?
This concerns a car's roadworthiness.
These are issued for mechanical problems or for the condition of a vehicle’s bodywork and equipment.
Image: Derbyshire Live/Derbyshire Road Policing Unit
It could have an immediate or delayed effect depending on how severe the defect is.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has published a list of defects explaining whether immediate or delayed prohibitions are issued.
Was the crackdown a success?
Officers from Derbyshire Roads Policing Unit posted their finds on Twitter.
They stated that the operation was not a success as the situation never improves.
In a tweet they wrote: "Officers carried out checks for about six hours in Derby.
"We checked six taxis, four of which (illustrated in our tweets) were prohibited and the other two had advisories.
"As usual there were no cabs on the ranks after 1pm once the word was out.
"Was it a success? No, as it never improves. The public are getting into death traps."