Crackdown on 'unsafe' taxis
A CRACKDOWN on unsafe and poorly-maintained taxis led to eight drivers out of 19 checked having their licences suspended by Derby City Council.
Enforcement officers worked with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and police to check licensed vehicles.
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Taxis
The operation was in addition to the routine inspections the council carries out.
Licences were suspended on three hackney carriages and five private hire vehicles because of defects.
Four vehicles were found to have tyres below the legal tread limit, others had poor suspension and excessive oil leaks, one vehicle had an accident-damaged bumper and one private hire vehicle was taken off the road because it had a bald tyre, cardboard in place of a passenger window and a door that would not open from the inside.
In four cases, the vehicle inspection agency issued their own prohibition notice requiring the vehicles to get a new MOT certificate.
The council said it carried out the checks last Tuesday to protect public safety at a busy time of year.
Councillor Margaret Redfern, chairwoman of the council's licensing committee, said: "I'm horrified at some of the defects that have been discovered and I am relieved that we've managed to remove unfit cars from the road, particularly in the run-up to Christmas; a time when taxi usage is higher than ever.
"It's vital that customers are confident they can use taxis that are legal and, more importantly, safe."
The licences will be reinstated once the repairs are carried out but taxi drivers criticised the council as "heavy-handed" and said it often took the council longer than a week to reinspect the cabs, meaning they lost out on a week's worth of trade and income – around £250.
Taxi driver Gulfraz Nawaz said: "Enforcement officers and police were at the railway station in Derby from 6pm until after midnight.
"They were stopping drivers and inspecting the cabs and, while we understand about safety, we have to consider the income and well-being of drivers as well.
"If they get their licence taken off them while they get their cab fixed, it can sometimes be more than a week before the council reinspects it, which means they are losing out on money.
"This time of the year is one of our busiest and drivers can't be without a licence for that long.
"If the council is going to take licences off us, they need to make sure there is a garage open straight away where we can go to get the cabs fixed and re-inspected quickly."
But the city council said that, of the eight vehicles suspended on Wednesday, seven had already been re-tested.
Councillor Bob Troup, cabinet member for housing and the environment, said: "We're not trying to take vehicles off the road.
"The bottom line is we need to protect the public and we'll achieve this by continuing to work with the taxi trade and their representatives to ensure that the majority of hard working and reputable drivers are not being given a bad name by the minority who are in breach of their licence conditions and putting passengers at risk.
"I would urge all drivers to ensure their vehicles are properly maintained and safe.
"Driving a licensed taxi with bald tyres is irresponsible and dangerous."
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19 Comments
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by shark, Derby
Monday, December 14 2009, 3:30PM
“In my opinion the vast majority of yellow cabs are regularly serviced, well maintained and regularly checked. The enforcement officers have obviously selected the worst cabs to examine and therefore quoting statistic is misleading.”
by Cabbie, Derby
Monday, December 14 2009, 2:08PM
“Major Chord, just for your information, which you seem to think you have lots of but it seems as if it is limited. If you send money overseas through Western Union then that money IS declared wouldn't you say (if you are sending your undeclared earnings through Western Union, you had better stop and heed the advice..money through WU is declared!) and which was the last time a cabbie refused to give you a reciept? Invoices are issued to all account customers and yes we do have bank accounts so to enlighten you... income IS declared and I think that HMRC are more aware of what's happening than you are. There are only a handful of cabs that are persistently being checked because they are old cabs and the council should carry on checking them. The newer cabs are fine and don't get pulled over unnecessarily. If you think that this business is lucrative (70k plus earnings) then don't sit at home and sulk, become a cabbie!”
by malcolm, Spondon
Monday, December 14 2009, 12:42PM
“Incase my comment is not to be confused it's applies to everyone who takes a cab out. Not The owner alone also report back to the office any faults found in the handling of the motor during driving. keep yourself clean so do not attemt to go under the vehicale unless it's off the road and safe to do so.”
by Cant walk, Derby
Monday, December 14 2009, 12:29PM
“You must be joking about the Yellow Cabs bothering about the law.
You only have to look at the average of 20 + Taxis that block upTenent St on double yellow lines every afternoon. They sound their horns all the time. And block the blue badge holders from parking/leaving the parking places.
The only thing these lot are interested in are ££££”
by malcolm, Spondon
Monday, December 14 2009, 12:27PM
“It's always been the drivers responsability to check the car's safe to take on to the road.”
by Rob, Derby
Monday, December 14 2009, 12:10PM
“Taxi driver Gulfraz Nawaz, you are a disgrace. To attempt to defend bald tyres over passenger safety is plain wrong. So what if it (allegedly) takes a couple of days to get the cab back on the road, it should be visually checked everyday for tyres, suspension & come on, that the poor passenger can open the door from inside.
Good work Council, weed out the bad boys on this.”
by james, Derby
Monday, December 14 2009, 11:59AM
“I am i minibus driver who on a very regular basis see Minibuses picking up from the same place as me without any operator licence in the windscreen - these vehicles are used in the day time by for Example, a Childrens day nursery and by night to earn a little extra for whoever it might be,
The problem is that the paying public do not know these rules and unless you are in the business then why would you know them.
Another bug bearer for me is to still see Taxi drivers and minibus drivers smoking at the wheel. The people that do this are not bothered about any rules so why would they bother if they are sticking to the Law. Ooooh it makes me blood boil.”
by Alf, Alfreton
Monday, December 14 2009, 11:53AM
“"while we understand about safety, we have to consider the income and well-being of drivers as well".....No mate totally wrong! If your vehicle is not up to standard to be on the road then tough!! Should have thought about it sooner and have a planned maintenance program in place like any decent transport provider.”
by grumpy, derby
Monday, December 14 2009, 11:20AM
“Most responsible Bus companies have their buses inspected and serviced once a month and are subject to the same VOSA inspections just carried out on the taxis. If a bus fails an inspection it is removed from the road and after repair, has to be tested again at a time to suit VOSA, so why should cabbies be treated any different. If a bus company had 19 buses inspected and 6 were removed from the road, the company would be up before the Traffic Comissioner and would be in very real danger of losing its operators licence. Keep your cab in good order Mr Nawaz and you have nothing to fear from the VOSA inspectorate, they are only there to protect the fare paying public. The taxi drivers association has campaigned to use bus lanes etc and to be treated as public service vehicles, they surely can`t complain when they are being treated like a public service vehicle. For once I can only praise the City Council and hope that they carry out these checks more frequently to ensure our safety.”
by Iqbal (City Cabbie), Derby
Monday, December 14 2009, 11:12AM
“Customer safety is paramount and cabbies caught with serious faults such as bald tyres should not have their license suspended...but REVOKED! But the council taxi licensing department should pull their socks up also. On more than one occassion the council have suspended a license and the norm is to get the cab fixed and call the department to re-book. Often the drivers take this action promptly for obvious economic resons but that number for the enforcement officers is not always manned. The only person who can authorise the re-test is the enforcement officer who is too busy checking cabs on the street or in a "meeting" thus causing unnecessary delays on getting the cab back on the road. Suggestion: When a license is suspended, the enforcement officer must issue authorization for the re-test on the spot making life easier for the driver and less workload for the enforcement officer.”