Council chiefs launch blitz on rogue drivers
May 6 2011
Friday night revellers will enjoy a safer trip home after cowboy cabbies were targeted in a crackdown.
Council chiefs inspected scores of taxis in a clampdown on rogue drivers, and were joined by police hunting villains who use taxis to carry out crimes.
Newcastle has 1,050 private hire vehicles and 780 Hackney carriages and 13 drivers were stripped of their licences and told to clean up their act or be banned from the highways.
Eight more were given a five-day ultimatum to implement changes and suspensions were dished out because of serious flaws to their taxis, ranging from dodgy brakes to bald tyres.
Today council officials who carry out regular spot checks vowed to protect the public from rogue drivers
Jonathan Bryce, licensing manager for Newcastle City Council, said: “This partnership operation is intended to ensure the travelling public are getting into road-worthy licensed vehicles driven by legitimate drivers."
“The city council takes enforcement and the standards of its licensed fleet very seriously. Our role is to ensure the trade operates in a safe and responsible manner."
“Vehicles failing to meet standards have been and will continue to be addressed."
“Both hackney carriage and private hire drivers have a responsibility for the safety of their passengers and other road users. I would hope this enforcement exercise sends a clear message to the licensed trade.”
From uninsured drivers to incorrectly displayed council crests, the operation assessed 67 vehicles. It follows a similar operation carried out last month when defective tyres, brakes, doors and headlights were all found.
Those drivers whose vehicles are found to have problems are stripped of their licences.
Checks were also carried out to make sure meters are not being tampered with to artificially hike fares.
PC Paul Gills, who led the operation, said: “We know the vast majority of taxi drivers abide by motoring and safety laws and operations such as this are aimed at targeting those that don’t, as well as deterring those criminals who use taxis as transportation to conduct their business."
“Taxi drivers need to think about their own safety and that of their passengers and other road users. The results of the operation show there are some who are still flouting the law."
“I hope this action taken by ourselves and the local authority reassures the community that we take their safety extremely seriously. We’ll continue to work together on such operations to ensure public confidence continues to increase.”
Source; http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-ea ... -28646496/
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