The licence of a Morpeth-based taxi company has been revoked on safety grounds, after investigations revealed drivers’ hours and record keeping issues
The six-vehicle national licence held by Morpeth-based A&B Taxis has been revoked by Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) Anthony Seculer, after he concluded that shortcomings in its vehicle safety procedures had placed passengers at risk, particularly school children and other road users.
The company, of Hadston, Morpeth, had been called before the DTC at a Leeds Public Inquiry. The company had applied to surrender its licence but the DTC refused to accept that request.
Traffic Examiner (TE) Peter White said that the company had been operating a vehicle without a valid MoT. The vehicle was stopped on 28 June 2016 on its return from a school run and did not have any passengers on board at the time. Records revealed the MoT had expired on 13 May 2016.
A delayed prohibition notice was imposed by Vehicle Examiner (VE) Peter Thompson for insufficient reserve travel on hand brake lever. The vehicle was later observed by a Northumbria Police Officer carrying schoolchildren on 28 June and 30 June 2016.
The TE said that further investigations revealed issues with drivers’ hours and record keeping, driver training and vehicle monitoring. When subsequently interviewed, Director and Transport Manager Francis McCoey said that the vehicle concerned had been used for school runs without an MoT up to 6 July 2016 as they had no other vehicle to use and the test had been booked for 6 July.
