Taxis in Blackburn with Darwen given safety checks
The multi-agency operation to to ensure the vehicles were roadworthy before the busy festive season took place on Wednesday, December 6. Only three drivers were ordered to make changes to meet safety standards. Blackburn with Darwen[1] Council’s taxi licensing team joined forces with the local Police Task Force team and a DVSA vehicle examiner to pull over passing taxis and carry out spot checks.
More than 40 vehicles were stopped by the police and checked over by the DVSA inspector. The kind of checks carried out on vehicles were those that taxi drivers are expected to do before starting a shift: working lights, tyres in good order, windscreen wipers working properly etc. Two vehicles were found to have tyre faults that needed dealing with straight away.
The drivers were sent away and reported back the same day to show that the faults had been rectified. Taxi Licensing officers checked that all the correct licences were in place and vehicle licence plates and signs were displayed and the drivers had licence badges. Only one driver from Blackburn with Darwen was found to have lost his taxi driver’s licence badge and was sent to get a replacement.
Borough environment boss Cllr Jim Smith said: “The council has a duty of care to protect local people who travel by taxi, and this is something we take very seriously. “Not all the vehicles we stopped during this multi-agency operation were licensed by Blackburn with Darwen – others were licensed in Hyndburn[2], Pendle, Bolton, Bury, Sefton, Wolverhampton and Slough. “However it’s important that we ensure, as much as we can, that taxis carrying passengers around the borough, are legal and safe.”
Sgt Aled Jones-Roberts from Blackburn with Darwen Police, said: “We work closely with partners to ensure vehicles are safe and legal to be on the roads of Lancashire. “The public rightly expect that vehicles driven by professional drivers should be safe and road legal and we are pleased that so many vehicles passed the checks. “If and when they don’t meet those standards, we will take the appropriate action.
These multi-agency operations will continue.”