Taxi Driver Online

Liverpool taxi drivers to face new random drug tests after rise in arrests

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... w-16796663

4,500 drivers licensed in city could face testing

Licensed taxi drivers in Liverpool are set to face drug tests as the city council attempts to deal with a surge of drivers operating in the city with illegal drugs in their system.

Under the new crackdown, private hire and hackney drivers licensed by Liverpool City Council will face 'random and intelligence led' drug testing in the form of urine sample analysis.

A report to be discussed at a meeting of the council's licensing committee next week suggests that new testing for drivers is required because 'a small number of the city council's 4,500 licensed taxicab and private hire drivers are prepared to take illegal drugs and drive their vehicles whilst drugs are still present in their bloodstream."

This fact has been highlighted in recent months by roadside operations by Merseyside Police which has identified that in the last 18 months, 54 private hire drivers licensed by the city council have been arrested at the roadside on suspicion of driving with illegal drugs - typically cannabis or cocaine - above the prescribed legal limit.

Across the whole of Merseyside, police arrested 114 licensed drivers on suspicion of drug driving in the 12 months from May 1 2018 to May 1, 2019.

The council says that while the number of arrests is relatively small compared to the number of drivers overall, it is considered inevitable that there are many others who are driving under the influence of drugs and have not been detected.

The report states: "The City Manager is of the firm view that it is now necessary to put in place an appropriate and proportionate procedure which, so far as reasonably practicable, firstly prevents drug users from being granted licences in the first place or having them renewed and, secondly detects those drivers who are currently licensed but who use drugs."

It explains that after having discussions with testing laboratories, the council's city manager has decided that the most appropriate and feasible testing process to introduce would be by way of urine analysis.

The cost of each test is predicted to be around £100 and will be met from existing council budgets.

Random and intelligence-led

The proposed new drug testing plans would have a number of strands.

If approved, there would be a system of random drug testing - with a number of licensed city drivers selected for testing from the council's database.

Any driver would be required to undergo a urine analysis test at a laboratory on a certain date or within a certain period of time.

Failure to comply with such a requirement could result in the driver committing an offence.

As well as the random testing, the council also plans to introduce 'intelligence-led' testing.

This would be based on the city manager being satisfied that there are credible reasons to suspect that a driver may be using illegal drugs and would order a urine test of said driver.

The new policy will also mean testing for drivers who have drug-related criminal convictions.

If a driver is applying for a new licence and has a drug-related conviction or caution from the last 10 years, the city manager will be able to order them to take a drug test as part of the application process.

For existing drivers wanting to renew their licences those with existing drug-related convictions or cautions from the previous three years could be ordered to take a drug test at their own expense.

If the licensing committee agrees the proposals, a consultation will begin with drivers with the results brought back at the end of the year.

I think this is a positive thing but it's a shame it has to come to this

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I'm not convinced the urine test is the best way.

When testing for drug/driving the police don't use a urine test, so I'm not sure why a council needs to.

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IDFIMH

They can test for cocaine and cannabis via a urine test as it stays in the body for ages.

Random drug testing for Liverpool taxi drivers moves a step closer after spate of arrests

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... i-16827760

The latest stage of the proposals have been approved by councillors

Plans to carry out drugs tests on Liverpool's taxi drivers have moved a step forward after councillors approved the latest stage of the proposals.

Members of the council's licensing committee voted to begin a compulsory consultation on the new testing rules, which would affect both new and existing drivers.

The new rules would see randomised testing of current taxi drivers , as well as the potential for new applicants, or taxi drivers renewing their licence, to be requested to take a test if they have a conviction or caution for drug-related offences in the past three years.

There would also be so-called 'intelligence-led' testing to allow the council to request a driver take a test if there are 'credible reasons' to suspect a driver may use illegal drugs.

Members of the committee praised the move but some said it would be necessary to push other boroughs in the region to adopt the policy as well because a large number of drivers licensing in other boroughs still operate i n Liverpool .

Councillor Roy Gladden said: "The reason we are looking at a policy for this is because of the drug problems we have with some drivers.

"Under our system there are drivers from other authorities driving in our area.

"I need something from this committee to go to the city region so that we can keep raising this with other boroughs."

Taxi team leader Yvonne Willcock said she sat on a panel with representatives from other regions and said that they would follow Liverpool's plans closely, but that it would be up to them if they wanted to introduce a testing policy of their own.

Drivers requested to take the tests due to previous drug offences will have to pay for the test, but for those chosen at random or due to intelligence-led testing the cost will be covered by the city council .

The cost of each test is predicted to be around £100.

Across the whole of Merseyside, police arrested 114 licensed drivers on suspicion of drug driving in the 12 months from May 1 2018 to May 1, 2019.

The council says that while the number of arrests is relatively small, compared to the number of drivers overall, it is inevitable that there will be others who are driving under the influence of drugs and have not been detected.

The committee report states: "The City Manager is of the firm view that it is now necessary to put in place an appropriate and proportionate procedure which, so far as reasonably practicable, firstly prevents drug users from being granted licences in the first place or having them renewed and, secondly detects those drivers who are currently licensed but who use drugs."

A representative from Alpha BioLabs, the company which will carry out the tests for the council, said their processes were designed to prevent any attempts to tamper with tests or allow people to provide false samples.

The tests, which will be done via urine sample, will test for 14 different types of substances, whereas police roadside tests currently only assess levels of cocaine and cannabis.

Once consultation has taken place the licensing committee will decide formally on bringing in testing.

Don't think there's anything particularly new here - if you haven't read the earlier articles above then you only need to read this one.

If you have read the earlier stuff, then this is more of a refresher.


Liverpool's taxi and private hire drivers set to face random drug tests

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... s-17377887

The plans will be voted on next week

Taxi and private hire drivers could soon be randomly drug tested amid concern about some drivers using cocaine and cannabis.

Members of Liverpool Council's licensing committee will meet on Tuesday, December 10 to give final approval to the plans, which would also see "intelligence-led" testing used on drivers suspected of being under the influence of drugs while driving.

Across the whole of Merseyside, police arrested 114 licensed drivers on suspicion of drug driving in the 12 months from May 1, 2018 to May 1, 2019.

Councillors expressed strong backing for the plans when moving them into a consultation phase earlier this year.

A consultation with drivers and found that most who responded "overwhelmingly support" the introduction of drug tests in the city.

The draft testing policy says that "a very small minority of these drivers use illegal drugs such as cocaine and cannabis on a recreational basis or as habitual users".

The policy states: "The City Council views such drug use as being completely incompatible with being a fit and proper person to be entrusted with the safe carriage of the general public, in addition to the obvious dangers presented to other road users by such licensed drivers.

"This policy, therefore, aims to establish procedures to allow for random and intelligence-led drugs testing of licensed drivers, with the intention of both detecting drivers who use illegal drugs and deterring such persons from continuing to use drugs."

Liverpool's move would see randomised testing of current taxi drivers - and the potential for new applicants, or taxi drivers renewing their licence, to be requested to take a test if they have a conviction or caution for drug-related offences in the past three years.

There would also be so-called 'intelligence-led' testing to allow the council to request a driver take a test if there are 'credible reasons' to suspect a driver may use illegal drugs.

The tests would be administered by specialist company Alpha BioLabs.

A representative for the company told the council in August that their processes were designed to prevent any attempts to tamper with tests or allow people to provide false samples.

Councillors say other local authorities in the region will need to follow suit to tackle the issue effectively.

At an August licence meeting, councillor Roy Gladden said: "The reason we are looking at a policy for this is because of the drug problems we have with some drivers.

"Under our system there are drivers from other authorities driving in our area.

"I need something from this committee to go to the city region so that we can keep raising this with other boroughs."

Under the current system the decision to introduce testing is entirely up to each local authority.

Drivers requested to take the tests due to previous drug offences will have to pay for the test, but for those chosen at random or due to intelligence-led testing the cost will be covered by the city council.

A council report says that the cost of the urine sample tests is around £100.

An interesting angle in the headline here, but in truth not much new here.

Didn't bother with the previous article a few days ago, which was just about councillors rubber-stamping the policy.

Wish I hadn't bothered with this one either, but I'd done the legwork before realising there isn't much new to see.


Ex-Jeremy Kyle DNA squad to start drug testing city's taxi and private hire drivers straight away

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... d-17433751

AlphaBioLabs will begin urine testing on Liverpool's drivers before Christmas

Urine testing on Liverpool's taxi and private hire drivers is to begin immediately - and be carried out by an award-winning Mersey firm .

Warrington-based AlphaBioLabs has been appointed to conduct random drug testing after Liverpool Council's licensing committee approved plans for it to be carried out on an "intelligence-led" basis.

Between May 2018 and 2019, a total of 114 licensed drivers were arrested on suspicion of drug-driving.

The council has said it views such drug use as "completely incompatible with being fit and proper persons to be entrusted with the safe carriage of the general public" - as well as the dangers presented to other road users.

But the authority said it was only a "small minority" of its 4,300 taxi and private hire drivers that use illegal drugs.

Testing is due to begin before Christmas and will continue on a monthly basis, with Liverpool councillors urging other local authorities in the region to follow suit.

David Thomas, managing director of AlphaBiolabs, said: “We have been working with Liverpool City Council for some time, providing drug and alcohol testing for Children’s Services.

"We are now thrilled to be helping the council with this random testing which will help keep drivers safe as well as members of the public.”

A consultation process conducted by the council during September and October found "overwhelming" support for the introduction of random drug testing.

The new policy will involve intelligence-led testing, where there are "reasonable grounds" to suspect the misuse of drugs.

Drivers with a drug-related conviction or caution who apply for a new licence or a renewal may also be required to undergo a test.

The policy is being introduced to detect drivers who use illegal drugs, to deter them and others from doing so and to offer peace of mind to the public.

AlphaBiolabs, which was named Knowledge Business of the Year at the ECHO Regional Business Awards this year , and was honoured by the Queen in 2016 , will take urine samples from drivers and analyse them at the company’s laboratory at its headquarters in Warrington.

The company said it has developed state-of-the-art lab techniques to provide a rapid, accurate historical record of drug use. Urine, oral fluid and hair analysis can detect illegal drugs that have been consumed from 72 hours up to 28 days previously.

Mr Thomas added: “Random drug testing is one of the best ways to ensure that employees are working in a safe environment.

“Many studies show that it is effective in reducing accidents and incidents, ill-health, absenteeism and litigation, all of which have an impact on productivity and can save companies and organisations thousands of pounds in lost revenue.”

I'm still trying to get that stat out of my mind.

Really struggle to comprehend it.

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IDFIMH

Personally not sure that is appropriate, despite what I said in my previous post.

Can't understand why they just can't take a mouth swab.

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IDFIMH

I wonder if there isn't some sort of crime gang involvement in the firms actively recruiting drug users as drivers perhaps or maybe just that the trade is a rich source of cash attracting users who would then spend their takings on drugs

I do wonder sometimes what might be the effect if it became compulsory for all taxis and PH to become card only might remove a LOT of the chaff from the trade

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Lower fares leads to more hours on the road which then leads to tired drivers. It's been going on for years where I used to live.