Date published: 10 March 2010

The standard of taxis in Rossendale is getting better according to the Licensing Manager at Rossendale Council who worked with Lancashire Police to carry out a series of random checks last week.

During the week-long Operation Diesel, 51 inspections were made to the boroughs 177 taxis (more than one in four) were checked by the Police and Council Officers to ensure they were safe and legal.

A number of relatively minor issues were identified with defect notices being served on 10 vehicles. Two drivers were found not to be displaying their identity badges and are likely to receive simple cautions for this offence.

Only one of the 47 vehicles was suspended – this was because the paintwork on the offside rear panel was not to standard and the offside rear bumper bracket was incomplete – presenting a danger to passers-by. Following repairs the suspension on the car was lifted on 5th March.

Licensing Manager Tracy Brzozowski said:

“Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of the random checks we carried out with the police. We have done checks previously and taxi standards in Rossendale are getting better as a result.

Defect notices were issued for the following issues:

• 1 offside door transfer missing
• 2 dirty vehicles 
• 1 defective offside front headlight 
• 1 defective offside brake light 
• 2 defective rear number plate lights 
• 1 defective offside side light 
• 5 defective external roof signs 
• 1 bodywork requires attention (excessive chipping, scratches etc) 
• 1 offside wing mirror cover missing 
• 1 defective nearside front tyre 
• 1 missing first aid kit 
• 1 missing fire extinguisher 
• 1 offside front bumper panel damaged / insecure

Operation Diesel was a multi agency initiative to make all forms of road transport safer in Lancashire. The initiative involved Rossendale Council’s Licensing Team, Lancashire Police and the Lancashire County Council’s Safer Travel Unit. It was supported by VOSA, Trading Standards, the Highways Agency and bus operators.

Licensed taxis in the borough were pulled over by marked police cars to carry out a series of checks. The Police conducted seatbelt checks, looked at the condition of the car and its tyres and checked insurance details. Licensing Officers carried out checks on driver badges, vehicle license plates, safety equipment, signage, fare cards, meters, lights and driver convictions.

Sergeant Gordon McGeechan from Lancashire Constabulary said: “The vast majority of drivers and operators take their responsibilities very seriously and make sure that their vehicles are maintained to the highest standards. We did uncover a small number of defects during this operation, though fortunately the majority of these were relatively minor.

“Working with partner agencies, it is our aim to ensure that taxi operators continue to ensure their vehicles are well operated and maintained and to that end, we will be conducting further checks in the future.”

Cllr Jimmy Eaton, Chair of the Council’s Licensing Committee, said: “I think that Rossendale has some of the best and safest taxis in the area. Spot checks like this are really important because they encourage taxi drivers and owners in the borough to maintain high standards throughout the year. Spot checks also mean that local people can be reassured that on the whole the standard of the Rossendale fleet is very good. As a council our primary responsibility is to ensure that local taxis are safe and comply with relevant licensing

“I want to thank the police and the council staff involved in this operation for the time and commitment they have given to helping people in Rossendale have peace of mind when they travel in our taxis that they are in safe hands.”