Cross-border taxi crackdown sees one vehicle taken off the road during Nuneaton safety inspections
- Perry Richardson
- Jul 23
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 24
A joint taxi and private hire vehicle enforcement operation in Nuneaton resulted in one vehicle being suspended from service after officers discovered it had no working brake lights, while two other vehicles were issued with rectification notices for minor compliance issues.
The operation, led by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council alongside Warwickshire Police and City of Wolverhampton Council, took place at Pingles Leisure Centre on 14 July. The initiative was designed to check that licensed vehicles operating in the borough met legal and safety standards, regardless of which local authority had issued their licence.
During the inspection, licensing officers examined nine licensed vehicles. Six were found to be fully compliant. One vehicle was immediately suspended due to defective brake lights, while two others were instructed to address less serious compliance issues before continuing to operate.
The latest inspection reflects the increasing use of joint, cross-border enforcement exercises by licensing authorities. With taxi and private hire drivers able to obtain licences from any local authority in England under current legislation, councils regularly work together to monitor vehicles operating outside their home licensing area.
The council said that, under current legislation, licensing authorities cannot refuse an application simply because the driver lives outside their area. As a result, joint operations enable authorities to inspect both locally licensed vehicles and those licensed elsewhere but working within the borough.
Councillor Shane Coates-Jarman, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Enforcement and Public Services at Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to undertake another operation, helping to ensure public safety and make sure the taxi and private hire drivers working in our Borough and beyond are operating legally and with safe, roadworthy vehicles.
“The vast majority of our drivers do the right thing, and I look forward to seeing more of these operations in the future.”
City of Wolverhampton Council, one of England’s largest taxi and private hire licensing authorities, supported the checks as part of its ongoing programme of nationwide compliance work involving vehicles it licenses operating across the country.
Councillor Qaiser Azeem, Cabinet Member for Resident Services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Ensuring the safety of the travelling public is our highest priority, which is why our officers carry out regular enforcement activity across the country wherever our licensed drivers are working.
“We will continue to support councils such as Nuneaton and Bedworth in delivering compliance operations that help ensure licensed vehicles meet the standards expected of the trade.
“As part of this work we also target illegal ‘ghost plates’ and use laser technology to check vehicles meet the legal minimum tyre tread depth of 1.6mm.”
Warwickshire Police also took part in the operation. A spokesperson said: “It was a great day working with our council partners to keep our roads safe from dangerous vehicles and poor driving and we look forward to doing it again.”
