SWOOP CENTRAL SHEFFIELD TAXI SAFETY FAILINGS


Sheffield City Council statistics indicate a steady rise in the num- ber of black cabs and PHVs described as not meeting standards. Of 102 vehicles tested during April, 59 per cent failed and 20 per cent were suspended as they were unroad- worthy.


But Hafeas Rehman,


chairman of Sheffield Taxi Trade Associa- tion, said black cabs and PHVs had to meet higher safety stan- dards than in MoT tests for other vehi- cles.


He told the Sheffield Telegraph: “Suspen- sions are given to vehicles that would not pass an MoT, whereas


a failure to meet a safety test can be for things like warning stickers being peeled off in the passenger area.


“A lot of drivers who buy used taxis now put them through the full mechanical test before they start work even if their last cer- tificate was still valid.”


WEST FIFE TAXI SAFETY PRAISED


Taxi and private hire operators in Kirkcaldy and west Fife have been praised after ran- dom safety tests were carried out on their vehicles.


The results of inspec- tions in both areas from July to September sug- gest an improvement in the number of vehi- cles passing safety


checks first time. Of the 160 vehicles tested in Kirkcaldy 156 (97.5 per cent) passed first time and four failed but passed on retest. The percentage pass rate the previous year was 96 per cent. There was a similar trend in west Fife, with 99 of the 103 vehicles tested there passing


first time and the remainder passing on retest. Tom Henderson, lead officer for fleet servic- es, told the Courier and Advertiser: “The operators should again be commended for their first class efforts in continuing to maintain their cars to a very high standard.”


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A police drive to check taxis for road- worthiness in Bingley revealed drivers were “largely sticking to the rules of the road”, a spokesman for the West Yorkshire force has said.


Officers in the Bingley and Worth Neighbour- hood Policing Team


BINGLEY DRIVERS ‘STICKING TO RULES’ planned.


welcomed the results of the joint operation carried out with Brad- ford Council’s Hack- ney Carriage Licens- ing Team.


During the operation, one car was found to not be roadworthy and the driver had his licence suspended. More checks are now


Sergeant Chris Wat- son, of the NPT, told the Telegraph and Argus: “It’s reassuring to find only one vehi- cle that had to be suspended. Such checks are a regular event, so unlawful taxis can expect a visit in the future.”


CARDIFF HACKNEY FLEET FOUND LACKING


Inspections by Cardiff Council licensing offi- cers have found many of the city’s 950 hack- ney carriages were in “poor condition”. Over the past six months, 388 warnings were issued to cab- bies about the condition of their vehi- cle, such as damaged bodywork, missing wheel trims and defec- tive headlights.


It compares to 295 warnings over the


same period last year. In May, a joint operation between the council and South Wales Police stopped and checked 79 vehicles.


Of these, 26 per cent were given a verbal warning, 18 per cent received a Stop Notice prohibiting use until the fault is fixed, 15 per cent received a Pre-Stop Notice and 16 per cent were referred to the coun- cil’s public protection


committee. However, the taxi trade has hit back saying many of the problems were only “cosmetic” damage and did not pose a danger to the public.


The rise in complaints comes after the testing regime changed last year so that hackney carriages were no longer tested only at the Cardiff Bus Testing Facility on Sloper Road.


HALIFAX PH BOSS CRITICISES CRACKDOWN


Halifax drivers have criticised a heavy- handed sting which took ten drivers off the road and impounded vehicles for the first time.


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PAGE 34


And one driver claims a misunderstanding left him hundreds of pounds out of pocket, without his livelihood and vehicle. Police and licensing officers from Cal- derdale Council acted after complaints of ille- gal plying for hire by private hire drivers. Badges and plates were seized and new powers were used to take pos- session of eight cars on the grounds that the offence nullified insur- ance.


Sultan Hussain, gener- al secretary of the Calderdale Private Hire Association, said if drivers were in the


wrong they deserved to be punished.


But he said to take away livelihoods - and cars which are also used for personal use - while a driver was still pleading his inno- cence was wrong. He said Jawaid Akhtar had to pay £190 to get his car back. Mr Akhtar works for GW Taxis, Sowerby Bridge, which has a contract with the Jing Jing restaurant on Wharf Street.


He pulled up in his Toy- ota Avensis intending to take his fare to Pye Nest. Two people jumped in and request- ed a lift to Triangle. Mr Hussain said in such cases the driver contacted his base rather than get into a possible argument and risk of injury. “It looks like an easy job but it’s a difficult


job at night. It’s good practice to try and avoid arguments,” Mr Hussain told the Hali- fax Courier. “What happened here was a misunderstanding.” Mr Akhtar, a 43-year- old father of five, is now awaiting a meet- ing with licensing officers and hopes to get his livelihood back. Calderdale registra- tion and licensing manager Sarah Richardson said sev- eral drivers had their badges and vehicle licences suspended with immediate effect and some vehicles were seized.


“The prosecutions brought against licensed drivers when a similar operation was carried out last year do not appear to have been a sufficient deterrent,” she said.


PHTM NOVEMBER 2011


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