Taxis suspended for major defects following spot checks in Aylesbury Vale

Three taxis were taken off the road for major defects, following a two-day joint operation between Thames Valley Police roads policing officers and the Buckinghamshire Council Taxi Licensing team.

During the operation, conducted in the run-up to Christmas last week as part of Operation Holly, 20 taxis were stopped across TVP South Bucks and TVP Aylesbury Vale (Aylesbury, Wendover, Stoke Mandeville, High Wycombe and Princes Risborough).

Three vehicles were taken off the road for ‘major’ defects and immediately suspended by the council due to these defects, including two with unsatisfactory tyres and one with door/window defects.

Eleven vehicles were found with ‘minor’ defects and the drivers were issued with tickets to rectify these within 21 days. Defects included missing first aid kits, fire extinguishers and bodywork damage, wrong number plates and incorrect council livery displayed.

Five drivers were found not wearing their driver badge or failed to produce their driver badge, and points were issued where required.

Traffic offences found included a defective brake light, three drivers not wearing seatbelts, two number plates with incorrect typeface, one number plate unreadable due to being dirty and one tyre with a damaged tyre wall.

Just six out of the 20 vehicles/drivers were found to be free of concerns. The council enforcement team will carry out further investigations to determine some drivers’ fitness to continue to hold a licence.