Taxi Driver Online

Coventry Evening Telegraph

July 6, 2007 Friday

Police order danger cabs off the road

Officers say safety message is not getting through but drivers dub methods 'heavy-handed'

ONE in four black cabs tested by police during a series of operations in Coventry were so dangerous they were taken off the roads.

Since February, 140 Hackney carriages have been checked and 37 - 26.2 per cent - have been taken off the roads needing immediate repairs.

After the latest crackdown police pledged to continue the operation until the message gets through.

They say that if a taxi is allowed to fall into a state of disrepair, it puts the public at risk.

In the most recent operation last Friday, police pulled 43 black cabs off the streets of Foleshill over a six-hour period and examined them at a garage with inspectors from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

Twelve had major faults with their brakes, tyres and steering and were immediately taken off the road. They will only be allowed back when repairs have been completed.

A further 12 cabs were found to have faults that required attention, but were allowed back out to work. Two drivers were found to be unlicensed.

During the operation, four private vehicles were also taken off the road for offences including having such darkly tinted windows they were unsafe.

Taxi drivers were also spoken to by the benefits agency to ensure they were not working while claiming benefits.

In previous operations in February, 98 taxis were checked and 25 were taken off the roads.

Last month, two black cab drivers were fined for having insufficient tread on their tyres.

Sergeant Tim Rogers, of Stoney Stanton Road police station, said: "The lesson doesn't appear to be being learned, the message isn't going through. We are going to continue with this until we see a considerable improvement."

He added that Coventry City Council's taxi licensing office had written to all drivers outlining the police operations and reminding them of the importance of vehicle maintenance.

Alias Yousef, secretary of the Coventry Taxi Association, which represents about 500 drivers in the city, said the association backed the police's aims but believed their methods were heavy-handed.

He said: "We are in favour because we believe passengers come first. If the vehicles are defective in any way they should be off the road. We don't like their methods but we believe what they are doing is correct."

Mr Yousef said drivers were upset at the checks, and believed they should be given notice of when they were to take place.

He added that it could be drivers who were not based in Coventry were coming into the city in defective cabs.
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So if a warning letter in advance of the checks isn't enough, how much notice do they need?

As we all know, even with unannounced checks the cowboys will generally scurry off home once words get round.

I susepct even GA agrees with me on this one

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Taxi Driver Online
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You mean Coventry drivers might have got the Leicester syndrome and performed a mass exodus from taxi ranks when VOSA turned up? lol

Regards

JD

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