IN THE NEWS
OPERATION PELICAN: TAXI LICENSING OPERATION HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT ACROSS SEFTON
Operation Pelican - a taxi licensing operation was carried out on Thurs- day 20 January across two separate areas of South Sefton, Netherton and Crosby. This was part of the continu- ing work for Operation Aftermath. Sefton Police state that the main aim of this is to educate drivers the signs of child exploitation and county lines activity. However this operation also clamps down on illegal activity that takes place in Sefton's taxis and PHVs and keeps them maintaining a high standard. Officers stopped over 30 private hire vehicles across the areas. This result- ed in three defect notices being issued and one suspension notice to
licensed drivers. Ten stop searches where conducted with the seizure of Class A and B drugs. This resulted in three arrests for drug supply and possession. Leaflets were handed out and stick- ers stuck in cabs. These stickers have a QR code that direct members of the public to the Childrens Society #LookCloser campaign. You can visit their campaign here;
https://crowd.in/SXXa4E Officers will continue to work with licensed drivers and support them in their vital role in the community and also help educate them to #LookCloser to protect vulnerable people that may use their services.
DANGEROUS DRIVING PHV DRIVER FINED NEARLY £500 FOR DRIVING TOO SLOWLY ON GLASGOW’S M8
A PHV driver has been fined almost £500 by police for driving too slowly on a busy Glasgow motorway. The Scottish Sun reports that Muham- mad Afzaal was fined £480 for driving at 40mph in the 70mph zone of the M8. He also had seven penalty points put on his licence which he managed to keep but had to pay the fine following the offence on March 3, 2019. During the recent licensing committee meeting Police Scotland said they believed Mr Afzaal was on his phone. They said two officers spotted him driving dangerously at an inappropri- ate speed along the inside lane of the M8 in Glasgow. Mr Afzaal was looking towards the car’s centre console and failed to lookout for other road users. It was claimed that other drivers had to take evasive actions to avoid a collision. Mr Afzaal told committee members: “I was in the left lane and intended to leave at the next junction. The police signalled for me to slow down before
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they stopped me. “They asked me why I was driving so slowly and I said I’m a taxi driver and can’t go above 30mph. They asked why I had my head down. I said I wasn’t using my mobile as it is always connect- ed to my car but they still charged me.” However, Chairman Alex Wilson said: “Officers don’t just watch you for a short period of time - they will have observed
you and had concerns to pull you over.” Cllr David Turner added: “Your story is all over the place. You said you couldn’t go over 30mph because you’re a taxi driver. There are no special speed limits for PHV drivers. Driving slowly on a motorway is as extremely dangerous as driving too fast.” Mr Afzaal was issued a warning for his behaviour.
CABBIE ‘STUMBLED OUT OF CAB’ IN BURY BEFORE BLOWING OVER TWICE THE LIMIT
Police say they watched a drunk taxi driver stumble out of his car before picking up members of the public. According to the Manchester Evening News, Greater Manchester Police says officers spotted the taxi being driven ‘erratically’ in the Bury town centre on Saturday 29 January. After being stopped by police, the taxi
driver failed a breathalyser test and was arrested. He then took another breathalyser test while in police custody, where he was found to be over twice the legal limit - at 77 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit is 35. GMP says it reported the incident to the local authority where he is licensed.
FEBRUARY 2022
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