Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver taken off the road as he’s caught risking passengers’ lives during traffic stop

http://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/taxi-dri ... ffic-stop/



A taxi driver was taken off the road last night, after police officers found him to be risking the lives of his passengers with an ‘incredibly bald tyre’ and no safety equipment.

The Swindon driver, who was ferrying two drunken passengers at the time of the stop, was forced to change his tyre at the roadside – losing him the Covingham-bound fare.

The silver Volkswagen Passet estate had one illegal bald tyre and two nearly-illegal bald tyres.



More worryingly, the hackney carriage wasn’t equipped with a first aid kit or firefighting equipment which is required by law under the terms of a private hire license.

Before he can drive again, the man will have to present paperwork confirming his tyres have been changed to Gablecross Police Station. He will also be reported to Swindon Borough Council.

The traffic stop was part of a larger police operation carried out on Drakes Way in Swindon yesterday evening. Dozens of vehicles were stopped and vehicle checks were undertaken.

Less worryingly, I would have thought?

And obviously the author can't make up their mind if it's an HC or PH, but the plate does say it's a Private Hire Vehicle, despite being yellow.

interesting how the journalist just happened to be in the right place at the right time to photograph this

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I amazed the spare wasn't as bald as the original one.

And I really hate the nearly bald expression.

In fact it's 100% legal.

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IDFIMH

You can't be a bit Pregnant, you are or you aren't.

You can't have a tyre that's nearly illegal. It's legal or it's illegal. Simple.

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

I have to disagree a bit with you Chris. A tyre can be legal today, now, but drive a few miles it can wear to such a state that it can be illegal. Unlike a light bulb in a motor vehicle which is an absolute offence. Either it works or it doesn't. Defective tyres are not an absolute offence.

2 weeks ago I set out for a trip to Belgium in my Range Rover; the tyres were quite legal when I left home with at least 5mm of tread all round. When I accelerated from some road works from about 70kmh to 140kmh, the car started swerving of its own accord. I managed to stop safely and found the rear offside tyre had gone flat and the cords were exposed. So by then the tyre was illegal. It was nowhere to being illegal 3 hours prior to it getting deflated by a bit of sharp stuff in the road works!

So it was 100% legal. A Puncture and you didn't notice so it became 100% illegal.

It either is or it isn't legal.

Quod Erat demonstrandum

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Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related

You've got to love the sandals…..them sort think a bald tyre is a good tyre.

The phrase wasn't even 'nearly bald'.

The article says: "two nearly-illegal bald tyres"

Hence *all* the tyres were described simply as bald. Period. Although two were still legal.

Don't know if it's just a case of clumsy wording, or just inserting the word 'bald' for dramatic effect, but to me the phrase "two nearly-illegal bald tyres' is just plain incorrect.

In our disciplinary system you get 3 penalty points for "having a bald tyre". I have tried umpteen times over the years since this was introduced to get them to change the wording to say "illegal" but for some reason they wont change it. There are also points for having "a large dent" again I have asked for a definition but to no avail.

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Grandad,

To me a bald tyre doesn't even mean something borderline legal or even slightly below the minimum tread - it means more like very little tread or no tread at all

Interesting to compare the definitions from three of the big UK dictionaries:

Collins:

If a tyre is bald, its surface has worn down and it is no longer safe to use.


Oxford:

(of a tyre) having the tread worn away.
‘the Nissan had two bald tyres’


Cambridge:

a bald tyre is one that has worn away to become very smooth and is therefore dangerous:
The tyre was completely bald.


They're all a bit vague and could be read in different ways, but the third one is probably more consistent with how I think of it - very little or no tread.

But legally I suspect 'bald' is meaningless unless it's specifically defined, so any council using the word is being intentionally vague, for whatever reason.

Which, of course, is why in the national law there's a reasonably precise definition of when a tyre is legal, and when it isn't.