Taxi safety tests scheme to be rolled out across North Yorkshire
A CRACKDOWN aimed at taking taxis which could pose a safety threat off the roads is to be rolled out across North Yorkshire.
The operation will be extended into Selby and Ryedale following the revelation that more than half the hackney carriage and private hire vehicles checked out during a York enforcement drive were breaching safety rules.
Inspectors uncovered faults with handbrakes, steering systems and tyres. One driver was suspended and 22 vehicles were blocked from operating because of their poor standards.
Now both Ryedale and Selby district councils are to carry out similar operations to ensure drivers, passengers and other motorists are not put in danger by unsafe taxis, with licensing officers saying the York results left them shocked.
Laurel Carr, taxi licensing officer for the Ryedale authority, said an evening operation in conjunction with North Yorkshire Police has will take place in December.
“We will do it on a Friday or Saturday night when it is busiest,” she said.
“It was a fantastic operation in York.
“We are in a different position because our fleet of cars are fairly new, but it is still well worth doing. The results in York were shocking.
“People are paying good money to be taken in a taxi and expect a certain standard, but a number of the cabs were in a worse condition than their own personal cars on their driveway.”
Tim Grogan, license enforcement office for Selby District Council, said a similar operation would take place in spring next year.
He said: “Operations like this keep taxi drivers on their toes.”
Police involved in the York crackdown said the conditions of some of the taxis they checked were “appalling”, with 80 vehicles, including two limousines, stopped over the two nights and 46 examined by the Vehicle Operator Standards Agency.
http://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/
Login
Register
FAQ
Perhaps it's too cold for the enforcement team to go out in the winter