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Posted on the 21st July 2025 in PHTM News
"DANGEROUS" TAXIS ON KIRKLEES ROADS AS OVER 40% FAIL ANNUAL SAFETY TESTS
Concerns are mounting in Kirklees that "dangerous" vehicles are operating on local roads after a significant number of taxis and private hire vehicles failed their annual compliance tests.
A report presented to Kirklees Council’s Licensing and Safety Committee on July 7 revealed that up to 42 per cent are failing monthly inspections, with the overall failure rate for the past year standing at over a quarter.
Between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, Kirklees Council conducted 2,445 compliance tests on private hire vehicles and hackney carriages. Of these, 653 vehicles, or 26.71 percent, failed the inspection. The highest failure rate recorded was in April 2024, when 42 per cent of the 185 vehicles tested did not pass.
Fiona Goldsmith, Public Protection Group Leader for Licensing at Kirklees Council, described the test as being similar to an MOT, but with "additional measures such as vehicle condition checks." Vehicles can fail for either minor or major issues. Minor failures allow drivers time to rectify the problem and return for a free retest, while major failures can result in the vehicle's license being suspended and a full, paid retest.
The most frequent reasons for failure included lighting (308 vehicles), steering/suspension (171 vehicles), wheels/tyres (152 vehicles), and brakes (119 vehicles).
Councillor Charles Greaves expressed his disappointment, stating: "Some of the reasons given for failure – it’s a bit disappointing that those have been picked up on in annual compliance checks rather than in ongoing, periodic checks by the driver or the firm." He highlighted issues like "suspension, steering, brakes, conditions of tyres and wheels – really the driver should be checking every time they’re going out."
Councillor Greaves also raised concerns about the current annual testing schedule, noting that vehicles are only tested twice annually once they reach five years old. He remarked, "that leaves an awful lot of time where there might be dangerous vehicles on the road waiting for the council to check them."
In response, Ms. Goldsmith clarified that the council no longer has an age-based restriction for increased testing frequency, with all vehicles now undergoing annual checks. She reiterated the council's expectation that "taxi drivers are supposed to do their own checks before they get in a vehicle and keep a record that they’ve done the checks."
Councillor Eric Firth acknowledged the issue but stressed that it's "not all drivers."
Ms. Goldsmith agreed, stating it's a "minority" of vehicles and drivers. She assured the committee that the council is "keeping an eye on the vehicles and proactively looking at them," adding: "If we happen upon a vehicle that just doesn’t look quite right, we can require them to go for an additional test. We can make them go for up to three a year."
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