Half of taxi drivers not compliant

Police and licensing officers from East Herts Council conducted an operation on Friday evening (25th July) targeting taxis do not comply with the law.

Taxis were taken to the car park at the Marford retail park, off the Ware Road, where the vehicles and the drivers were checked for compliance with the law and the terms of their licences. The taxis were checked for faults or defects, while background checks on the drivers are also carried out.

Some 53 taxis were stopped with 29 drivers given verbal warnings for minor vehicle defects, defective fire extinguishers and other matters.

A PG9 notice was issued to one driver for faulty brake pads, prohibiting them from using the vehicle until it was fixed and checked again. Two vehicles had their plates removed due to not having an MOT.

Two Traffic Offence Reports were issued to drivers, one of which was also for not having an MOT.

One was reported for not having insurance and three Vehicle Rectification Notices were issued for lighting-related matters, requiring the drivers to fix the problems within 14 days. A further rectification notice was issued by an East Herts licencing officer. Six drivers were breathalysed however none failed the test.

The RPU’s PC Grant Duke, who led this particular operation, said: "The message is going out to taxi drivers across the county that if they do not comply with the law, they will be found out and may be liable for a fine as well as repair bill to bring their vehicle back up to the required standards."