Five Hyndburn taxi and PHV safety warnings handed out on night of licensing inspections
Updated: Jul 16, 2022
Five Hyndburn Borough Council taxi and private hire vehicle safety warnings were handed out after spot checks by police, DVSA and licensing officers earlier this month.
On Friday 1 July Hyndburn Borough Council carried out a multi-agency safety operation on vehicles licensed in the Borough. Council officers joined forces with officers from Lancashire Constabulary and DVSA to carry out the spot checks.
In efforts to keep residents safe these spot checks are carried out in addition to the checks which are carried out every 4 months on all licensed vehicles.
On the night, 15 vehicles were pulled into the Council's Vehicle Maintenance Unit where a thorough inspection was carried out. Of the 15 vehicles, 1 was issued with immediate prohibition notices by the inspector from DVSA due to faulty indicators and 2 were issued with delayed prohibition notices due to more minor faults.
Guidance and instruction was also given to 2 drivers who met all legal obligations, however could improve on some safety elements. This included instruction for the replacement of a headlamp bulb and to replace worn brake pads. Although the vehicle with worn brake pads was not bad enough to be issued with a prohibition notice by VOSA, the Council issued an immediate suspension notice until the problem had been rectified. A suspension notice was also issued by the Council to a vehicle which had a defective brake light.
Spot checks on Hyndburn’s licensed vehicles will continue to be done without prior warning as part of the multi-agency initiative to maintain high standards and improve safety throughout the borough.
Cllr Miles Parkinson OBE, Leader of the Council, said: “We take our duty to ensure that all vehicles licensed in the Borough are safe at all times. Spot checks like this are carried out periodically, even though most licensed vehicles are subject to a test which is more stringent than a normal MOT test every 4 months. This ensures that our high standards are being always met. Through this additional work members of the public using vehicles licensed in Hyndburn can be assured that the vehicles are safe and suitable.
“I would like to thank Lancashire Constabulary and DVSA for their help. Working in partnership means we keep people safe and can call upon the expertise from all organisations when needed.”
