Taxi drivers fail council spot checks but most faults corrected immediately

Spot checks on Rotherham taxi drivers have been introduced by council officials after the authority succeeded in getting all licenced drivers qualified and their vehicles fitted with CCTV systems '“ with problems discovered on more than four in ten vehicles.
Caught out: A Rotherham cabbie remains under investigation for failing to use the camera system fitted to his vehicleCaught out: A Rotherham cabbie remains under investigation for failing to use the camera system fitted to his vehicle
Caught out: A Rotherham cabbie remains under investigation for failing to use the camera system fitted to his vehicle

Spot checks on Rotherham taxi drivers have been introduced by council officials after the authority succeeded in getting all licenced drivers qualified and their vehicles fitted with CCTV systems '“ with problems discovered on more than four in ten vehicles.

More than one in four drivers also failed to satisfy the inspectors.

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However, most infringements were minor, councillors have been told, with only one investigation remaining active '“ into a driver who was found to have failed to activate the camera system in their vehicle.

Of 37 vehicles and drivers checked in the three months to June, 21 vehicles were found to comply with council rules and 27 drivers were also following the rules.

In the 16 vehicles were defects were found, the most significant was a car suspended from use because of tyre wear being at the legal limit, with warnings issued to others for defective bulbs or tyres approaching the legal wear limit.

All problems were either rectified on the day, or by the following day when they were re-inspected.

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Eight of the ten drivers who were not compliant with the rules were not wearing identity badges, though all had them present in the vehicle. All were warned and told use the badges as intended, with a further driver warned about the standard of his driving.

The statistics were presented to members of the council's ruling Cabinet.

Rotherham Council has strengthened the rules governing taxi drivers and their behaviour recently, with all now expected to hold a BTEC or similar qualification, to help ensure a high quality service for the public.