York taxi and private hire drivers suspended for defects including dashboard engine warning light il
A series of checks on taxis and private hire vehicles in York has been carried out as part of a shared operation to ensure the vehicles are providing a safe service to passengers. Drivers have had their licences suspended for defective coil springs and for warning lights displayed on their vehicle dashboard. The multi-agency operation ran twice in November and December, and involved officers from taxi licensing partners including City of York Council, North Yorkshire Police and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Over the two operations, a total of 25 private hire vehicles and hackney carriages operating in York were stopped and checked. Vehicles licensed by York, Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield were inspected. The council say that all vehicles underwent full mechanical examinations for defects by the DVSA at the council’s MOT test centre at Hazel Court or at the roadside, to check they were driving were safe to carry customers on the roads. Checks were also made to ensure that the drivers were properly licensed and insured. As a result, six vehicles were ordered off the road by the DVSA and had their licences suspended. Four of the six suspended taxis and private hire vehicles were licensed by City of York, three of which were suspended for a period of 4 - 8 days, with one vehicle still off the road. The vehicles were suspended due to the following faults:
defective tyres
tyres fitted to the front axle of different sizes and no operable spare
defective or inoperative headlights
an illuminated engine warning light
defective coil springs.
A further twelve drivers were advised to repair minor vehicle defects and several others were also warned by enforcement officers about breaches of licensing conditions. Cllr Peter Dew, executive member for transport and planning, said: “This operation shows our commitment to ensuring only safe and correctly licensed taxis and private hire vehicles operate within the city. We will continue to work closely and share resources with North Yorkshire Police and the DVSA, to tackle this issue directly and make York safer for those travelling by taxi.”
