THE WAITING IS FINALLY NEW GOVERNMENT BEST PRACTICE GUIDANCE
Article by Dave Lawrie, Director NPHTA 0161 280 2800
info@nphta.co.uk
On 17 November 2023, the Government published the long-awaited updated Best Practice Guidance for Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing to help local licensing authorities to carry out their taxi and private hire vehicle licensing functions. Last month we finished part one at section 8.14, seatbelts and children being on seats, not on laps, moving on to section 8.15, Personal Security:
Protection screens
“Authorities should ensure that security adaptations do not prevent drivers from fulfilling their legal obligations towards disabled passengers. Whilst front seats may not be included in occupancy numbers or generally used by passengers where security screens are fitted, some disabled people may require access to the front seat to complete a journey comfortably and safely”.
Many local authorities stipulated that where a protection screen is installed in a private hire vehicle, the front seats may not be used. The new guidance addresses this issue, highlighting that people with disabilities may need to travel in the front, so such a licensing condition should be avoided. However, there’s an entire section on protection screens which states the complete opposite, where it now says:
“The front passenger seat should not be included in the seating capacity of the vehicle licence where a partition is fitted.”
A little confusing to say the least, in our view, the use of front seats should not be excluded by licensing conditions, if a driver’s risk assessment means the front seat be excluded for any reason, this should be supported by their local authority.
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The guidance on such screens can be found here:
https://shorturl.at/cBEM9
which we at NPHTA worked on with the DfT and research laboratory to develop.
CCTV in vehicles “The department’s view is that CCTV in vehicles can enhance both drivers’ and passengers’ safety and consideration of the merits of CCTV by licensing authorities must include both aspects.”
Inclusion of the trade within community safety partnerships, is a very welcome suggestion, in fact many local authorities already have very good links where the police are included, providing advice and updates regarding ongoing investigations and reports, the guidance then refers to the statutory standards element of CCTV in vehicles.
“An extra indicator is required to show when audio recording has been activated.”
This suggests the inclusion of ICO compliant audio recording.
Fire extinguishers and first aid kits
“The National Fire Chiefs Council’s advice is that vehicles should not be required to carry fire extinguishers and drivers advised to get out and stay out of the vehicle and call 999, rather than attempting to firefight.”
Finally, although paraphrasing to emphasise the point, fire extinguishers should NOT be in licensed vehicles. In the interest of clarity, the wording skipped makes suggestions of even more training courses. The industry already has enough courses to undertake, it does not need more as “a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.” In this case it could lead to a false sense of confidence and be extremely dangerous. The same applies in our view to first aid kits which should also be removed.
Vehicle testing
MOT standards are seen as being the test for roadworthiness, and reference is made to checking the vehicle’s overall condition as well as understanding of maintenance regimes used by vehicle owners using:
https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history JANUARY 2024 PHTM
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