SWOOP CENTRAL


DONCASTER MOTORISTS ARE PULLED OVER FOR CAR CHECKS


Vehicle checks have been carried out at sites in Doncaster as part of a motoring crackdown. Police officers from Adwick Safer Neigh- bourhood Team worked alongside a host of organisations including HM Customs and Excise and Don- caster Council.


The checks took place in Great North Road, Woodlands, and the A19 in Bentley, where officers checked vehi- cles for insurance and whether drivers had a licence.


They also checked if vehicles were using red diesel and if motorists had a permit


to carry waste. Police said during the day, five people were arrested - three were illegal immigrants, one for driving while dis- qualified and one man was arrested for a domestic incident. More than 60 cars were tested for red diesel, with two seized by HM Customs and Excise.


A total of 20 taxis were checked with two taken off the roads for not being roadworthy while another six vehi- cles were seized for having no insurance. A further six fixed penalty tickets were issued for offences such as speeding.


Officers also handed out tickets for offences such as not wearing a seat belt and two were cautioned for pos- sessing cannabis. The operation was part of the Neighbourhood Alliance project running in Highfields for the previous three weeks, tackling residents’ problems in the area. PC Paul Setterfield who led the operation told the Doncaster Free Press: “This was a successful operation with some really posi- tive results.


“By working in part- nership we can ensure that a variety of issues are dealt with appro- priately on the day.”


SPOT CHECKS REVEAL DANGEROUS RENFREWSHIRE TAXIS


At least eight Renfrew- shire drivers were hit with fixed penalties of £60 - as well as having three penalty points added to their licence - when police officers discovered a series of defects after spot checks were carried out on their cars. Two vehicles were immediately taken off the road. One of them had badly damaged tyres, while the other was being driven with- out a MoT certificate. Some of the offenders also face being report- ed to Renfrewshire Licensing Board and that could lead to them failing to have their private hire operator’s licence renewed. Traffic police joined


forces with staff from Renfrewshire Council to swoop on cabs in Paisley, Johnstone, Renfrew and Erskine during two crack- downs staged eight days apart.


The faults discovered ranged from poor tyres to lights not working. Police warned cabbies there will be similar swoops being staged in the weeks to come. During the most recent checks, eight vehicles were issued with defect notices and their driv- ers were ordered to carry out repairs. In some cases, vehi- cles failed to meet an acceptable level of cleanliness. Following similar checks eight


days later, more fixed penalties were handed out to offenders. In most cases, the cul- prits were guilty of driving their cabs while they had defec- tive tyres.


One driver was report- ed to the procurator fiscal for failing to adhere to a condition of his licence.


Sergeant Deborah Reilly, who is a traffic officer, told the Paisley Daily Express: “Our priority is the safety of all road users and it is concerning that sever- al vehicles have been found with defects. It is of particular con- cern that, in many of these cases, vehicles were operating with defective tyres.”


Click.. Look...Find... your next used cab


Just click PAGE 58 PHTM AUGUST 2011


SOUTH TYNESIDE CABBIES RANK WELL IN SAFETY CHECK-UP


South Tyneside cab- bies are maintaining high standards across the borough, safety checks have found. A total of 50 vehicles and drivers were checked during a two- night exercise.


And only one issue of concern was found - a defective tyre on a vehi- cle licensed by South


Tyneside Council. The checks were car- ried out by the council’s licensing offi- cers in partnership with Northumbria Police. Cllr Jim Perry, lead member for environ- ment and transport with South Tyneside Council, told the Shields Gazette: “These results show


that the vast majority of local taxi operators share our commitment to high standards and are delivering a safe, high quality service. “We have a good rela- tionship with the trade, and will continue to carry out regular test- ing of private hire and hackney carriage vehi- cles and drivers.”


NINE DERBY TAXIS BANNED FROM ROAD AFTER FAILING CHECKS


Nine taxis in Derby were banned from the road after they failed roadside checks. The Derby Express reports that roads policing officers and Derby City Council licensing officers stopped 14 hackney and private hire vehi- cles in the city during the latest operation. Seven were found to


have defects, includ- ing defective tyres. The drivers were given prohibition notices, preventing them from driving the car again until the defects were fixed or, in some cases, allowing them to drive the taxi home for repair. All eight had their taxi plates removed.


During a second


check, two drivers were given prohibition notices as one taxi had a leaking battery and the other had a power steering fluid leak. They also had their taxi plates removed.


Roads policing officer PC Lee Simpson said that more checks will take place later in the year.


FAULTS FOUND IN ONE IN FOUR PETERBOROUGH VEHICLES TESTED


A quarter of PHVs and hackney carriages stopped in Peterbor- ough had faults. Of 32 vehicles inspect- ed, four were taken off the road immediately and four were given ten days to prepare for a full MoT to prove they have corrected the fault.


Cambridgeshire Police and Peterbor- ough City Council taxi enforcement officers worked with VOSA to carry out the operation


in the city centre. They were also stationed at points where limos were dropping young- sters off at their end-of-year proms. Police officers also issued fines to drivers of three PHVs for not wearing their seat belts and three fines were issued for tyre offences and disobey- ing a no entry sign. One limo driver was issued a ticket for hav- ing no MoT.


The UK Borders


Agency was also there to do background checks on drivers to ensure they are work- ing legally.


According to the Peterborough Evening Telegraph, this fol- lowed a swoop five days earlier, where in two hours, 17 out of 30 hackney carriages and PHVs flagged down by police in a surprise swoop in Millfield were found to be in breach of the law or their licensing conditions.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88