Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers found to be putting profits before safety


More than a third of taxis stopped by police in Hitchin and Letchworth last weekend had defects that breached their licensing conditions.

The proactive checks were carried out by the Road Policing Unit between 10pm and 12am on Friday 28th January, in and around both town centres.

Thirty one taxis were checked in total – of these, thirteen had committed breaches of their licensing conditions.

Two of the taxis had their North Herts licences suspended – both were not carrying the required fire extinguisher. One had a defective tyre and the other a defective brake light respectively.

Five of the drivers were given advice because their vehicles had tyres that were just on the legal limit of the amount of tread they had – they were told to get the tyres changed as soon as possible.

Two others taxis had a defect on a light and expired fire extinguisher respectively. Both were given warnings to get them fixed.

A further two drivers were warned for not having their badges displayed in a prominent position.

Two other drivers, licensed by other authorities, were also stopped. One, from Luton, had a defective tyre and the driver was given three penalty points on his licence and a £60 fine.

A taxi from Stevenage also didn’t have a fire extinguisher on board so his licence was also suspended.

One Hitchin resident, Sarah, who regularly uses taxis at the weekend commented on the findings saying "I think it is astonishing that so many out of a small number checked had either illegal or barely legal tyres. It makes you think they are more interested in their profits than ensuring the safety of their passengers.

"It is certainly going to make me look more closely at the condition of any taxi I use in the future"

Police Sergeant Neil Emmerson said: “These drivers make a living out of carrying members of the public in their vehicles. It’s crucial that these drivers regularly check their vehicles over and ensure they are compliant with their licensing conditions and that they are safe for the public to be carried in.

“We will be carrying out further checks in North Herts and other areas in the near future.”

Cllr Bernard Lovewell, North Herts District Council Portfolio Holder for Housing and Environmental Health said: “We welcome these proactive checks by the police, as combined with regular enforcement activity from NHDC officers, this helps to ensure that standards are maintained and residents are kept safe.”

http://www.hitchinpeople.co.uk/groups/laworder/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Astonoshing ! What the feck does barely legal mean ? It either is or it isnt.

It means the officers are gutted they couldn't nick the drivers.

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IDFIMH

Even the fire extinguisher, i dont think your even meant to use it in the event of a fire.Suposed to leave it to the pros

She's going to do a full MOT on every taxi or private hire car she proposes to hire before she gets into the vehicle!!

Don't you just love 'grease monkey' women!!!

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

Just google "barely legal" and you'll see something REALLY interesting.

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Former taxi driver

I darent ! On the wifes computor..

not carrying the required fire extinguisher. - im off and running in a fire
One had a defective tyre - fair enough, nick him

and the other a defective brake light - bulbs blow

Five of the drivers were given advice because their vehicles had tyres that were just on the legal limit of the amount of tread they had – this i object to, they are either legal or not

Two others taxis had a defect on a light and expired fire extinguisher respectively. Both were given warnings to get them fixed. - minor matters

A further two drivers were warned for not having their badges displayed in a prominent position. - minor matters

so then, the nett result was 1 illegal tyre?....

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

What she really meant was:

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

What is the point of a fire extinguisher in a cab, they just sit there unused year after year either in the front or in the boot like mine
I have had mine for 30 years no one has checked if it works only that its there.
When was the law introduced as Blackpool states if there's a fire get everyone out and leave it to the fire crew.
The only cab that should have a full sized one though is a TX4

OK, so the tally is:

Two fire extinguishers missing.

One defective tyre.

One defective brake light.

One defective light (non-brake, presumably ).

One expired fire extinguisher.

Two badges not prominently displayed.

One Luton cab with a defective tyre.

One Stevenage cab with a fire extinguisher.

That's just ten, so to get to the thirteen who had "committed breaches of their licensing conditions", there must either be two that aren't included OR the thirteen excludes the Luton and Stevanage cars and includes the legal tyres.

But it hardly seems a roll of shame, does it? And I didn't think they could suspend for lack of a fire extinguisher, even an out-of-towner?

Next they'll be suspending for having the wrong Lynx fragrance

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Caledonian Cabbie

As regard the tyres in particular, wasn't there a similar story a few years ago from Cardiff which alluded to the legal tyres in a dodgy headline?

I think one driver complained to the Press Complaints Commission, but I don't think he got very far.

But probably the worst aspect of the article is breaches of the English language. Surely the use of the word 'respectively' is unnecessary in both cases: it doesn't add any meaning to the story and is not required.

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Caledonian Cabbie

Yep, we had the same kind of nonsense down here.

I cannot remember the figures, but it went something like 300+ drivers over a year blah blah blah. A tremendous amount was petty stuff, like having their badge with them, but not on them, a wheel trim missing, tyres nearly illegal etc etc.

I was the one that made the complaint to the press commission, but as you say.............I got nowhere.

It is no more than paper selling, with gullible members of the public oooing and arring. Unfortunately the papers are a law unto themselves, and are protected by others of the same ilk. They do damage to the trade albeit temporary, and by Saturday night it is all forgotten

As Arnie used to say.............fug um

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

Feck all, except some council numpty trying to justify his existence and some jurno trying to jazz up a crap story.

29 mph in a residential area is nearly illegal BTW.
I don't see many stories about that.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Harumphhhhhhh!!!!