Taxi Driver Online

Taxi commissioned to take children to special school found with illegal tyre

https://www.stourbridgenews.co.uk/news/ ... ort-taxis/

A TAXI driver who is commissioned to drive children to school has been hit with points on their licence after being caught with an illegal tyre on their vehicle.

Dudley Council undertook a sting operation in conjunction with West Midlands Police and DVSA, checking taxis that are responsible for transporting children to and from special schools across the borough.

Taxis taking children to three special schools in the borough were ordered to go for a spot check at Merry Hill, with council officers, police and compliance officers from DVSA in attendance.

47 drivers and vehicles were checked during the operation on April 3, with the majority found to be compliant with the council’s standards. However, some were found to have not been meeting their contractual obligations on the day, including two vehicles that were found to have bulbs out and another that was not showing the correct licensing sticker.

One driver was also hit with three points on their licence, as their vehicle was found to have an illegal tyre with no tread on the inside and had the corded inner of the tyre showing.

Andy Beaman, a Transport Officer at Dudley Council, said the operation helps to provide peace of mind to parents and carers of children who rely on these services in order for their children to attend school.

He said: “It’s a good message that Dudley puts out that we’re going to up the standards of checking to ensure we can give the best security and safety for the parents of children who need these services.

“We’re looking for any defects on the vehicles that go up and above where we’re contracted to check – our licensing people can do number plate checks, but with the police and the DVSA, they’re operational - they check if there is anyone on their record that they are after who may have slipped the net in terms of driving, and then also check the standards of the vehicles, looking for things like corroded chasses and illegal tyres.

Andy Beaman, a Transport Officer at Dudley Council, said the operation helps to provide peace of mind to parents and carers (Image: Olivia Warburton / NQ) “It adds that extra layer of protection.”

Cllr David Stanley, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Dudley Council, said: “Once again, we have shown that our school transport contractors must adhere to the stringent terms of our agreement or risk strong action from our enforcement officers.

“The majority of drivers and vehicles today were found to have the standards required, and I would like to thank them for their patience.”

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IDFIMH

So they found nothing, basically, apart from one tyre over 47 vehicles

And some strange phraseology in the article, such as drivers 'commissioned' to take children to school

And then there's the misspelling of the word chassis - thought that was maybe the plural of chassis, but as far as I can make out via Google, the plural is the same as the singular


So I had a look for the original source to maybe work out where the error came from (because I'm like that ), but couldn't find anything, so I'd guess there's no press release, or whatever, and that any such release was sent directly to the press rather than on the council's website. And the photos via the press link in Sussex's post credits the photos to the journo, so maybe that indicates it was a joint operation involving the council, police, DVSA and the press

But the council's website does contain a very similar news release from October last year (which in fact Captain Cab posted on here via a Birmingham Mail rehash), which indicates where the c-word came from. (No, not that c-word )

But this maybe indicates why there was a follow up recently, and maybe why the press were involved this time round. And maybe why there wasn't much found this time


Council leads on operation to catch unlawful drivers

https://councilnews.dudley.gov.uk/news/ ... ul-drivers

Dudley borough taxi drivers who have flouted agreements on school transport are facing tough action, following a sting operation led by Dudley Council this week.

The local authority undertook an operation in conjunction with West Midlands Police, DVLA and DVSA on Monday 21 October.

Taxis taking children to a special school in the borough were ordered for a spot check in the area, with council officers, police and compliance officers from DVSA in attendance.

Dudley Council has contracts with a number of providers, who are paid to transport children with additional needs to and from school under a stringent agreement with the authority.

Most of the drivers stopped during the operation were compliant, but some drivers were found to have not been meeting their contractual obligations on the day.

Drivers who were found to not be meeting the requirements included a vehicle with corroded chassis, a vehicle with no working lights on the rear, two illegal number plates, some drivers not having badges with them and one driver with no insurance.

The individuals and companies concerned could now face penalties including loss of contracts, endorsements on their licences, and possibly criminal proceedings.

Councillor David Stanley, cabinet member for children’s services, said:

“Safety of our children and young people is paramount, and our school transport contractors must adhere to the stringent terms of our agreement.

“The majority of drivers and vehicles were found to have the standards expected, and I would like to thank them for their patience.

“Sadly, there were a small number of drivers who were found to be contravening their licence. These individuals will now face the ramifications.”

Jonathan Poole, Centre Manager at Merry Hill, said:

“We are pleased to have supported the council for its vehicle-check, which was hosted at Merry Hill this month.

“These checks are important for continuously ensuring services across the community operate safely, and that vulnerable children and adults across Dudley are protected."

Which explains why they were looking for corroded 'chasses' six months on

But you wonder what kind of formal inspections the vehicle had been through such that a routine stop check later managed to find a corroded chassis

But it at least explains the unusual rationale for stopchecks - they're looking for vehicles with corroded chassis. Are they really expecting to find many in future

Well the official council 'media release' has appeared a couple of days after the press article.

And the quote including the word chassis/chasses isn't included in the official release, so the plot thickens

But it looks like the mystery of where the misspelt 'chasses' came into being will never be solved

https://councilnews.dudley.gov.uk/news/ ... -providers

There's another wee detail that wasn't included in the press article last week:


So if the bulbs were actually sorted out at the time, then out of 47 cars all they found was one tyre and a sticker issue...

And the Birmingham Mail's rehash has used the word 'defunct' to describe the bulbs. Quite an unusual use of the word 'defunct', I'd say

Also this new bit:


Which is pretty unremarkable, obviously. But check out this from last year's release, which is with hindsight maybe looks a bit odd:


Correct me if I'm wrong, but is the council here getting the manager of a shopping centre to make safety-is-paramount style statements to the press after a taxi spotcheck?

Anyway, I really should stop reading stuff like this

So two vehicles had bulbs out and were sorted when it was pointed out to the driver.

I just wish councils would say they were delighted that the only problem on these vehicles was blown bulbs, which happens to 10s of 1000s of vehicles every week.

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IDFIMH

Maybe the council were just gutted they didn't find any rotten 'chasses'

(I think the press swapped the word 'corroded' with 'rotten' )