Taxi Driver Online

Three Private Hire Vehicles Taken off Road in Scarborough


A joint agency operation to inspect taxi and private hire vehicles to ensure the safety of the travelling public took place in Scarborough on Saturday 17 October 2015. The operation by North Yorkshire Police also involved North Yorkshire County Council’s School Transport team, Customs & Excise officers and Scarborough Borough Council's Licensing department. Information was also shared with the council’s Benefit Fraud team.

The vehicle inspectors primarily looked for defects such as steering systems, brakes, faulty headlights, problems with indicators, illegal tyres and worn handbrakes. Licensing officers also checked vehicles for cleanliness and presentation and that licensed drivers were fully compliant with the council’s Taxi and Private Hire Policy and Government law.

25 taxi and private hire vehicles were inspected during the exercise, of which 9 were found to be completely satisfactory and of a high standard. 13 received advisory notices to address defects (some being more serious than others, MOT failings, vehicles with multiple defects etc) which are important issues.

A further three vehicles received warnings for more serious issues and had to be taken off the road. Although several of the warnings related to vehicle lights, three related to legal but worn tyres. Advice regarding stopping distances was given to drivers.

A couple of drivers received warnings for speeding, smoking in the vehicle and failure to display their photographic ID and badges prominently. Badges must be worn and on display so that they are clearly visible to anyone wishing to see them otherwise an offence may be committed.

The fact that some vehicles were deficient remains a concern and the council is likely to consider legal action in some cases.

Cllr Martin Smith, Scarborough Borough Council Licensing Committee Chairman said:

“I am pleased with the way the operation has been conducted. We take the safety of the travelling public very seriously and it is important that licensed drivers adhere to the law with regard to vehicle maintenance, tax and insurance to ensure the safety of all road users.

“We shall be organising more snap inspections in the near future and we will be taking firm action where vehicles are found not to be fully roadworthy. The same will apply to those drivers who are found to be non-complaint, particularly where they fail to display the mandatory photographic ID notices or fail to wear ID badges.”

Sgt Peter Wood of North Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Group added:

“This event showed multi agency collaboration at its best with the overall emphasis on road safety. It aimed to ensure that taxis and private hire vehicles in the Scarborough district are safe and law compliant for all customers. It was pleasing to see that many drivers and operators are conscientious and keen to avoid offences being committed. Where offences were identified, traffic officers dealt with these robustly. This operation should be reassuring for residents and visitors using taxis and private hire vehicles in the area and ensure they have a safe journey.”

source: http://www.yorkshirecoastradio.com/news ... arborough/

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

What is a LEGAL but worn, tyre?

Is it one that you have just had fitted?

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Former taxi driver

It'll maybe be a "that's getting close to it's limit mate"..tyre

Some councils, such as South Derbyshire stipulate in their vehicle conditions the minimum depth of tread that is required to pass the compliance test. They wanted 3 mm but settled for 2 mm so based on that if the tread was say 1.8 mm, the tyre would be legal but under the conditions it would be worn below the acceptable level.

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Grandad,