As many as HALF of all taxis and PHVs are failing regional safety tests as new white paper report warns of ‘SERIOUS PUBLIC RISK’
- Perry Richardson
- Apr 27
- 2 min read
Nearly half of taxis and private hire vehicles in some areas are failing annual safety inspections at the first attempt, according to a new industry white paper analysing responses from licensing authorities across England.
The report, produced by Mobility Services Limited in partnership with CheckedSafe, found first-time failure rates ranging from 3% to as high as 49%, with common faults including tyres, brakes, lights and suspension. In one licensing area, almost half of vehicles were deemed unroadworthy at the point of inspection, indicating they had likely been operating with defects prior to testing.
Data gathered through Freedom of Information requests to councils covering two thirds of England’s taxi and PHV fleet also showed that roadside enforcement is identifying significant compliance issues. Some authorities reported that up to 15% of vehicles stopped were suspended or revoked due to safety concerns, while others recorded dozens or more vehicles taken off the road annually.
The most frequent defects identified during both roadside checks and annual inspections were tyres, brakes, steering and lights. The report highlights external data showing defective brakes contributed to 750 casualties, while tyre defects caused 491 casualties and 12 fatalities, underlining the potential consequences of poor vehicle maintenance.
Researchers warn that current regulatory frameworks relying on annual or six-monthly inspections are insufficient, particularly as fleets age and vehicles often cover between 20,000 and 40,000 miles per year. Department for Transport guidance discouraging strict vehicle age limits is expected to accelerate this trend, increasing reliance on maintenance compliance rather than replacement cycles.
The report states that “it is possible that a driver uses a vehicle with serious faults… for many months prior to an annual inspection,” particularly in cases of cross-border working where enforcement powers are limited. It adds that some areas have minimal on-street inspection capacity, further reducing oversight between formal tests.
As a result, the authors are calling for mandatory daily walkaround checks by drivers, supported by digital reporting tools. They argue that “a daily check of each vehicle could have significantly reduced the number of such failures” and would provide a measurable improvement in compliance and passenger safety
