Taxis and private hire cars checked by police ahead of Christmas revelry
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Police in the Highlands have carried out road-side checks on taxis and private hire cars as part of a festive road safety initiative.
Officers were accompanied by Highland Council's Trading Standards in order to ensure safety and compliance during the busy Christmas period.
The checks were carried out at the end of last month in the Inverness-shire, Lochaber and Ross-shire areas with more than 60 vehicles stopped and checked.
A number of offences were detected, including taxi licencing infringements which were dealt with by Trading Standards.
Sergeant Calum MacAulay, of Dingwall road policing unit, said: “Alongside our annual festive drink and drug drive campaign, we carried out this initiative to ensure that members of the public who are celebrating this festive season with friends and family but are not driving themselves, can be assured that they can get home safely by taxi or private hire car.
“We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that we can all enjoy this festive season safely.”
David Mackenzie, Trading Standards manager at Highland Council, said: “We welcome the opportunity to work with our partners at Police Scotland in conducting these checks.
“The licensed taxi and private hire car trade are a very important part of the Highland community, serving locals and tourists alike, and the trade undergoes routine vehicle safety checks, driver checks and taxi meter tests throughout the year.
“These activities are planned with all concerned aware they need to take place and set the standard to be applied at all times.”
