VEHICLE VIOLATIONS
NEARLY HALF OF BARNSLEY PH DRIVERS WHOSE VEHICLES WERE CHECKED HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED
Almost 50 per cent of Barnsley town centre private hire drivers, whose vehicles were stopped and checked for defects by licensing officers, were suspended during a daytime operation, a shocking new report has revealed. Firms and their drivers have subsequently been warned to adhere to rules about vehicle requirements - or risk enforcement action - in a bid to drive up standards in Barnsley. It comes after Barnsley Council’s licensing officers carried out an unannounced day of action of January 24 and suspended nine out of 21 drivers. Reasons given for the suspensions predominantly related to incorrect signage but action was also taken due to faulty lights and some drivers’ failure to carry out daily inspection checks. Daily routines have been insisted on by
previously licensing
teams, with defective lights and tyres both being brought up in the past as areas where taxis and PHVs could improve - however the recent result has caused alarm with the council. A report, discussed by officers on Wednesday 15 February said: “Vehicle non-compliance is an issue officers are concerned with during the undertaking of each and every enforcement operation. “Incorrect signage on vehicles cannot be excused, coupled with failing to complete basic vehicle inspection sheets, which is a tool that ensures the very safety of a licensed vehicle, is not acceptable. “The vehicle when working must display, on its front doors, the words ‘Private Hire Vehicle Advanced Booking Only’,
and
must display on the rear offside and nearside doors of the vehicle the operator’s trade or business name and telephone number.
CABBIE HAD NO HANDS ON WHEEL AND ON PHONE ON M5
A taxi driver on the M5 who was transporting a child with special needs to school was caught with no hands on the wheel in misty conditions. Officers from Devon and Cornwall Roads Policing Team stopped the motorist on the morning of 8 February, after he was spotted using a mobile phone. Police have
described the incident as “totally
unacceptable” and say the driver was hit with a fixed penalty notice. A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police has subsequently added that the incident has been referred to the Central Ticketing Office. They will decide on if a fine and points is adequate, or if this needs to be referred to the Magistrates' Court to reside over.
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“Vehicle failures are always unacceptable, and our operations must convey the message that operators, vehicle proprietors and drivers must accept responsibility for their failures and make a change. We have clear standards that must be adhered to as failure to do so may put the safety of the public at risk.” At a previous operation - carried out in the town centre at night- time on November 11 last year - just four were found to have fault. Regular liaison meetings between hackney carriage and private hire representatives now take place. “Feedback has been given that these meetings were working well as a mechanism to
cascade
information to licensees and that positive feedback had been received from participants,” the report added. “Proactive enforcement operations will continue to take place.”
CABBIE’S VEHICLE SEIZED FOR DRIVING DISQUALIFIED
A Wiltshire PH driver saw his vehicle seized after he was caught driving despite being disqualified . The PHV was spotted in Larkhill on 4 February by Wiltshire Police’s roads policing unit. A tweet from the specialist operations team’s
account,
@WiltsSpecOps, said: “RPU are seizing this taxi from Larkhill after checks revealed the driver is disqualified from driving. “To think they charge the public to drive them around! Well not any more, vehicle seized and driver reported to court.”
MARCH 2023 PHTM
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