St Albans City and District Council and Hertfordshire Constabulary are working together to ensure that licensed taxis meet the required safety standards by carrying out safety spot checks on vehicles.

In a recent exercise in St Albans, the police were assisted by the Council’s licensing compliance officers, when they stopped a number of vehicles to check that they met the required safety standards.

The Council as the local licensing authority for St Albans City and District requires that Hackney Carriages or Private Hire Vehicles meet minimum safety standards, for example, by undergoing regular vehicle tests which are more comprehensive than a normal MOT. Officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary help support the Council by regularly carry out high visibility safety spot checks on taxis.

The Council also ensures that licensed taxi drivers have undergone medical and criminal records checks and that they are properly insured. Random checks are also carried out to ensure that drivers are displaying their identification badges correctly.