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PostPosted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 6:50 pm 
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Taxis in Lancaster and Morecambe fail spot checks

More than 80 hackney and private hire taxis were checked in one single day by Lancaster City Council licensing officers and the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), working with local taxi firms.

The checks were carried out with no advanced notice. Taxi drivers were told on the day to attend a car park at Morecambe Town Hall.

But a DVSA officer said he noticed a ‘significant number’ of taxis arriving with new tyres as the day rolled on.

A report to Lancaster City Council’s Licensing Committee states: “In total, 83 vehicle inspections were carried out on the day. Thirty Hackney carriages and 53 private hire vehicles were checked. Licensing staff issued 11 defect notices and three suspension notices. The DVSA [which focused on mechanical issues] issued three prohibition notices.

“The majority of defects were in relation to the poor condition of door signs, expired fire extinguishers and damage to vehicle body work. A handful of vehicles were suspended due to more serious defects including illegal tyres.

“The DVSA issued three prohibition notices due to tyres being below the legal limit and an indicator not working.”

At the time of writing the report, of the 11 defect notices issued, three were outstanding and all suspensions had been lifted.

An extra report from Tony Wilson, a DVSA inspector, states: “The first two taxis inspected were issued with immediate prohibition notices. One had a tyre below the legal limit and the other had two illegal front tyres.“A third taxi was issued with an immediate prohibition notice for an indicator not working.

“It was beneficial in only letting the taxi operators know that we were holding a check on the day. However, as the day went on, I did notice a significant number of taxis coming in that had had new tyres fitted.

“The lack of police presence probably had a negative effect, as they can often pick up those reluctant to be inspected.”

Cab proprietor Colin Pye said his first aid kit and fire extinguisher were checked by both licensing officers and then the DVSA. He felt one check should be enough.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 6:50 pm 
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Quote:
But a DVSA officer said he noticed a ‘significant number’ of taxis arriving with new tyres as the day rolled on.

8-[

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:18 pm 
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Sussex wrote:
Quote:
But a DVSA officer said he noticed a ‘significant number’ of taxis arriving with new tyres as the day rolled on.

8-[



In the past when they have carried out such exercises locally many drivers used to disappear I'm guessing here they didn't live far enough away so had to get new tyres pronto

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2023 10:07 am 
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Interesting point about the new tyres in the article, but that doesn't automatically mean they were replacing defective tyres - I mean, how many drivers replace tyres close to a test even if they're still legal? It's just a good time to do it.

Note also that the press used the strapline as follows (which isn't included above):

Lancaster Guardian wrote:
Safety checks on taxis in Morecambe and Lancaster revealed illegal tyres and empty fire extinguishers.

But the article only mentions expired fire extinguishers, which is obviously a different thing, and makes it sound a lot worse than the rest of the article (and, while there may have been empty extinguishers, expired extinguishers sounds a bit more plausible).

In particular, do fire extinguishers actually have an expiry date? I think they actually have a manufacturing date, and if the indicator remains in the green then it's still regarded as valid irrespective of age, at least by many councils.

DVSA inspector wrote:
“The lack of police presence probably had a negative effect, as they can often pick up those reluctant to be inspected.”

What's that supposed to mean, precisely? Presumably it's alluding to drivers who say they can't attend the test? Makes you wonder why any of them attended the test at all - I mean, surely the ones with defective tyres must have had a good idea that they were at least borderline? So why attend the test if it required police to compel them to attend?

On the other hand, maybe those who did attend thought there would be consequences if they didn't turn up.
So well done, Mr DVSA - you've let the cat out of the bag for next time round :badgrin:


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2023 2:06 pm 
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Quote:
do fire extinguishers actually have an expiry date?


yes they do

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2023 3:25 pm 
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I was reminded to check the extinguisher wasn't over 5 years old before going in for a test (Glasgow)


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2023 11:51 pm 
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No doubt individual councils may specify a maximum age for fire extinguishers.

But they normally don't have an 'expiry date' in the sense that most people would understand the term.

There are lots of sources easily found via Google, eg:

Quote:
[...]fire extinguishers don't actually have expiry dates and don't technically become expired[...]

https://www.cityfire.co.uk/news/is-usin ... dangerous/


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 09, 2023 5:57 pm 
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Quote:
But they normally don't have an 'expiry date' in the sense that most people would understand the term.

I think the ones without gauges usually have 'expiry dates', but clearly the ones with gauges speak for themselves.

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