Taxi safety shock following checks in York

Another series of checks on taxis and private hire vehicles in York has been carried out in a multi-agency operation involving council and police officers, to ensure the vehicles are providing a safe service to passengers.

Officers from partners including City of York Council, North Yorkshire Police and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) supported the operations. Bradford and Calderdale councils were also involved as they represent some of the neighbouring authorities which licence taxis and which can legally operate in the region.

The operations ran throughout the evenings and into the mornings of Friday 13 October and Friday 3 November. Over the two operations, a total of 44 private hire vehicles and hackney carriages which were operating in the city that evening were stopped and checked.

All vehicles underwent full mechanical examinations for defects by the DVSA at the council’s MOT test centre at Hazel Court or at the roadside. Checks were also made to ensure that the drivers were properly licensed, insured and that the vehicles they were driving were safe to carry customers on the roads.

As a result, seven vehicles were ordered off the road by the DVSA due to the faults found including:

  • a defective tyre (sidewall bulging/casing separated)
  • a tyre with less than the minimum tread requirement
  • defective or inoperative headlights or brake lights
  • a serious fuel leak.

Another seven vehicles were found to have faults and the drivers were given three days to fix them and get MOT approval. The variety of mechanical defects included:

  • defective
  • engine oil
  • split drive shaft cover
  • defective seat belt
  • anti roll bars inoperative

A further eight drivers were advised to repair minor vehicle defects and several others were also warned by taxi enforcement officers about breaches of taxi licensing rules.

In addition, eight private hire vehicles were suspended from working due to mechanical defects and other breaches of taxi and private hire licensing rules.

A pizza delivery vehicle was also seized by police for having no insurance.

“Anyone with concerns about the conduct of drivers or the condition of their vehicles should email public.protection@york.gov.uk so we can investigate.”

Inspector Andy Godfrey, of York City Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We have continued to conduct joint operations with City of York Council in an effort to improve safety for taxi customers.

“Members of the public who use taxis and private hires in York can be reassured that once again, the majority of vehicles are safe and in good order.

“Our most recent operation, however, has identified some issues and I would remind all taxi drivers that it is their responsibility to ensure their vehicle is in good order, and free of defects before they use it, regardless of if it is a company vehicle.

“We will continue to carry out similar operations in the near future to ensure that standards are being maintained.”

 

What’s on in York: Finding the Words with poets Charlotte Eichler, Sally Goldsmith and John Whale

Finding The Words

York Explore Library

Thu 16 Nov

6.45pm – 8.00pm

£3 (or £2 with a York Card)

Finding the Words is a regular poetry evening every month at York Explore Library. Each evening brings together three poets and we aim to include both published writers and those working towards a collection. We’ll have a bar available and readings last around an hour. The evening is also a chance to share and chat, so please feel free to bring any news or information about poetry local, regional or national.

Charlotte Eichler grew up in Hertfordshire and now lives near Leeds. Her poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies such as Agenda, The Interpreter’s House, The Rialto, and The Emma Press Anthology of Aunts. She was recently awarded a year’s mentoring with Vahni Capildeo by Poetry London magazine, and her first pamphlet will be published by Valley Press in 2018.

Sally Goldsmith As well as a poet Sally is a songwriter, historian, utopian, environmentalist and an amateur naturalist. She’s also written scripts in verse, had songs and poems inside dramas on Radio 4 and a musical feature – about the Izal medicated toilet roll. She’s won two Sony Radio awards. Her first publication was Singer which was one of the winners in the Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition judged by Michael Longley. In 2013 Smith/Doorstop published her first full length collection, Are We There Yet? She lives on the edge of Sheffield near the Peak District.

Twitter: @salthepoet

Are We There Yet? poetry collection published by Smith/Doorstop and available from:

John Whale was born in Liverpool and is a co-editor of the international journal Stand. He has published two collections under the Northern House imprint with Carcanet, Waterloo Teeth (2010) and Frieze (2013). The former was shortlisted for the Forward Prize best first collection. He is currently working on a third volume which, once again, explores the connections between history, the body, and the natural world.

 

Booking

In person at any Explore York Library.

By phone: (01904) 552828

Email: york@exploreyork.org.uk