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Police carry out taxi crackdown before Christmas rush hour

Police carry out taxi crackdown before Christmas rush hour

Officers from Humberside Police and North East Lincolnshire Council carried out a series of random inspections to taxi’s in Grimsby before the busy Christmas period.

Last week, a total of 15 random roadside inspections were carried out to taxis in the Grimsby area.

The checks are conducted to ensure that all vehicles are in a satisfactory working condition, as well as having the appropriate valid insurance, correct signage in the correct areas and that the driver ID badge is visible.

A total of five faults were found with the 15 inspected vehicles.

Amongst these faults, one vehicle had a cracked wing mirror, two vehicles required tariff cards, one vehicle needed to repair their roof light and another driver was fined for parking on yellow zig zig lines.

This is an improvement on the last random night of checks, which took place in July, when 14 faults were found amongst 19 vehicles.

Random checks to taxi’s are regularly conducted ahead of busy periods, with Christmas being one of the busiest in the year.

Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, said:

“Throughout the year we carry out routine random inspections of our local taxis to make sure that they are maintained and up to a high standard.

“Christmas time can be a particularly busy time for taxi drivers, and the majority care very well for their vehicles and their passengers. As this evening showed, we have a high rate of compliance.

“Drivers also undergo annual inspections but these random spot checks allow us to ensure standards are continually being met.”

Under current Covid guidelines, taxi drivers and passengers are required to wear a mask while in a taxi, unless they have a medical exemption, and Mr Shepherd wanted to remind everyone of this rule.

“I know that people might be a bit fed up of COVID restrictions now but it’s really important that people take measures to protect themselves and others,” he added.