Suspect taxis and minicabs targeted in Thames Valley safety and licensing checks

Taxi Licensing Officers from Milton Keynes Council (MKC) recently joined forces with Thames Valley Police to carry out checks on taxi drivers during an evening of positive enforcement action. On 4 October licensed vehicles were stopped and checked during a safety operation which targeted Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles with suspected safety defects and licensing breaches. The aim of the operation was to proactively tackle vehicle defects found among licensed vehicles.

As a result, 15 licensed vehicles were stopped by police and visual checks were conducted by officers at the roadside. Eight of these vehicles were then identified as having defects that required further examination by the Council’s testing station – 1 MKC, 1 SNC, 6 AVDC. All eight vehicles were then thoroughly inspected by examiners who discovered a number of safety breaches, including defective lights, tyre damage, bumper/wing damage and insecure battery. A number of licensing breaches were also found including no licence plate, missing door sign, no first aid kit, no fire extinguisher and damaged seat cover. In addition, one driver was caught smoking in his vehicle and one driver refused to allow his vehicle to be tested. Subsequently both drivers were reported to their respective Councils. Cllr Mick Legg, Chair of MKC’s Regulatory (Taxi) said: “It's vital that people have absolute confidence in the safety of licensed vehicles and this operation was designed to highlight those who do not maintain their vehicles. Licensed drivers are expected to check their vehicles prior to commencing work and ones that do not will be caught and will have to deal with the consequences. “We will continue to work with Thames Valley Police and our neighbouring Local Authorities to ensure the safety of the public when using these services. I would like to thank TVP for making their resources available for this operation."