Police officers, Harrogate Borough Council, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) carried out the operation which ran from 6pm to 11pm on Friday 15 June 2018.
A total of 23 private hire vehicles and Hackney Carriages were checked, to ensure that drivers were properly licenced and in compliance with HMRC rules, and that vehicles were safe to carry customers on the roads.
All 23 vehicles underwent full mechanical examinations for defects by the DVSA. As a result of the checks only one taxi, licenced in the Bradford area, was given an immediate prohibition notice by the DVSA, which means the vehicle was ordered off the road due to faults with its tyres.
Three other vehicles were given a delayed prohibition notice due to issues with wheels, suspension and other components, giving them seven days to rectify the fault. Seven drivers were advised in relation to minor vehicle defects and several drivers were also warned by taxi inspectors about breaches of taxi licencing rules.
Traffic Sergeant Andy Morton, of North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group, said:
We have been conducting these operations periodically for the last five years in an effort to improve safety for taxi customers.
Previous years’ operations have found a significant number of vehicles were below the necessary safety standards, resulting in them being taken off the road. While it is disappointing that this year’s operation found four vehicles that had to be issued with some sort of prohibition notice, there has been a noticeable improvement in the overall condition of the vehicles inspected over the last two years, which I am very pleased about.
I would again remind taxi drivers that it is their responsibility to ensure their vehicle is free of defects before they use it, regardless of the fact it is a company vehicle. They will be held responsible for these defects which ultimately put their safety at risk, as well as that of their passengers.
I would, however, like to commend many of the drivers for the improvements we have seen in overall vehicle safety and compliance. We will be continuing these enforcement operations with our partners to ensure standards are maintained.
