Lancaster taxi crackdown as illegal tyres found and cars taken off the road

Safety checks on taxis which carry passengers in Morecambe and Lancaster have found problems including badly-worn tyres which break the law and empty fire extinguishers.

More than 80 hackney and private hire taxis were checked in one single day by Lancaster City Council licensing officers and the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), working with local taxi firms. The checks were done with no advanced notice. Taxi drivers were told on the day to attend a car park at Morecambe Town Hall.

But a DVSA officer said he noticed a ‘significant number’ of taxis arriving with new tyres as the day rolled-on. A report to Lancaster City Council’s Licensing Committee summarises the safety checks. Lancaster’s Salt Ayre car park was going to be used. But it was felt checks there would cause too much disruption for other car park users.

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The licensing report states: “In total, 83 vehicle inspections were carried out on the day. Thirty Hackney carriages and 53 private hire vehicles were checked. Licensing staff issued 11 defect notices and three suspension notices. The DVSA [which focused on mechanical issues] issued three prohibition notices.

“The majority of defects were in relation to the poor condition of door signs, expired fire extinguishers and damage to vehicle body work. A handful of vehicles were suspended due to more serious defects including illegal tyres. The DVSA issued three prohibition notices due to tyres being below the legal limit and an indicator not working.”

At the time of writing the report of the 11 defect notices issued, three defects were outstanding and all suspensions have been lifted. An extra report from Tony Wilson, a DVSA inspector, states: “The location was not as originally planned and therefore I felt that it did have a negative effect on the operation. A central location would have probably meant more vehicles being inspected, although I think we did a pretty good job with the number of taxis that came.

“The first two taxis inspected were issued with immediate prohibition notices. One had a tyre below the legal limit and the other had two illegal front tyres. A third taxi was issued with an immediate prohibition notice for an indicator not working. It was beneficial in only letting the taxi operators know that we were holding a check on the day. However, as the day went on, I did notice a significant number of taxis coming in that had had new tyres fitted.

“The lack of police presence probably had a negative effect, as they can often pick up those reluctant to be inspected.”

Comments from the local taxi trade about the checks are included too. Leon Harpley, Steve Parker and Collin Pye, described as vehicle proprietors, have given generally positive feedback.

However Mr Pye said his first aid kit and fire extinguisher were checked by licensing officers and then the DVSA. He felt one check should be enough. In future, remaining unchecked Hackney and private hire vehicles will be checked. And private hire business operators are to have their records checked.

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