Taxi Driver Online

UK Newsquest Regional Press - This is Oxfordshire

August 22, 2006 Tuesday

HEADLINE: Police issue taxi warning

BYLINE: Samantha Simpson

DATELINE: Witney Gazette

TWO taxis were ordered off the road by police in Witney after it was discovered they were not roadworthy.

The two taxi drivers were stopped from picking up any passengers after tyres on their vehicles were found to be defective.

The drivers were pulled over as part of a joint Thames Valley Police and West Oxfordshire District Council operation targeting unfit licensed taxis in the Witney area between 7pm and 10pm on Friday.

The drivers - who both held licences issued by the council - were banned from using their vehicles until necessary work was carried out to make them fit to drive.

Andrea Thomas, of the district council's licensing department, said both drivers fixed the problem the same night, and, after a vehicle check by roads policing officers, were allowed to continue working.

In total, 20 licensed private hire and hackney carriage vehicles were stopped by police and licensing officers.

Three other drivers were 'offered advice' about their vehicles, and drivers not in possession of their driving licence, MOT, and insurance certificates at the time of the check were ordered to produce the documents within seven days.

Police have warned that further spot-checks are being planned to target a 'minority' of drivers who were failing to meet required taxi standards.

PC Michelle Ryan, from Thames Valley Police's Rods Policing Department, said: "Taxis are an essential part of the public transport infrastructure, and the public rightly expects them to be safe, properly licensed, and maintained. While most vehicles and operators abide by the law, there are some who do not and therefore tarnish the good reputation of the majority.

"These checks are one of the measures to support the law-abiding majority of taxi operators."

There are 145 vehicles in West Oxfordshire that have been issued licences by the district council to operate as either private hire or hackney carriages.

A spokesman for the council's licensing team said that to qualify for a licence, a vehicle must be under eight years old and pass twice-yearly MOT tests. If a vehicle fails to pass a test, the driver is unable to operate as a taxi service until the required work is done.

Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the council's licensing committee, said: "We expect all private hire and hackney carriages to be maintained at the highest standards."

One taxi driver, who asked not to be named, said: "I was one of those stopped. I thought police did a good job.

"At the end of the day, it gives us all a bad name if someone's vehicle isn't up to scratch, so it's good to have a warning like this to ruffle a few feathers."
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They do that round here once every 2 to 3 years. trouble is that unless you have a mechanic check your car over every week you can't detect every fault which crops up between services and they can fail you on the some pretty trivial things BUT is it that hard to check your tyres at least once a week basics should be checked regularly and sorted out