Hants police target school vehicle safety
Discussion
Following a special stop check operation in Southampton on Tuesday, April 12, which revealed worrying results, Hampshire Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit is warning vehicle owners to make sure their vehicles are in a roadworthy condition.
As part of the constabulary's Safer Roads campaign, taxis and minibuses carrying school children were targeted in an effort to cut casualties on roads across the county.
Eleven vehicles were stopped during the checks – four of these were taken off the road immediately by vehicle examiners from VOSA for being in an un-roadworthy condition. Defects included an exhaust that allowed fumes into the vehicle, a broken emergency exit, faulty steering and tyres, and illegal tyres.
Not one of these safety defects would have been caught by a so-called 'safety' camera!
Streaky
As part of the constabulary's Safer Roads campaign, taxis and minibuses carrying school children were targeted in an effort to cut casualties on roads across the county.
Eleven vehicles were stopped during the checks – four of these were taken off the road immediately by vehicle examiners from VOSA for being in an un-roadworthy condition. Defects included an exhaust that allowed fumes into the vehicle, a broken emergency exit, faulty steering and tyres, and illegal tyres.
Not one of these safety defects would have been caught by a so-called 'safety' camera!
Streaky
mungo said:Amazingly )
BTW - good job well done!
Streaky
) I have drinking buddies in Hants Police (Aldershot and Soton CIDs). One of them directed me to the constabulary website (on another matter) ... and there it was. Didn't appreciate thta you were involved - Streakymungo said:
Just out of interest, did any of the vehicles have seatbelts fitted, or are the kids no safer that they would be, say, on the parcel shelf of a Chimaera?
They all had seatbelts fitted.
Most of the vehicle defects were just down to bad maintenance rather than anything else
>> Edited by mungo on Wednesday 20th April 19:29
Which is down to the lowest-cost-possible contracts. I'm not surprised in the slightest.
I can still remember a discussion I had with one of them over an autistic boy and child locks on the doors. "Can you put the child locks on please ?" "Why" "Well, he's autistic and he might jump out otherwise ?" "Why" etc etc etc. Nearly throttled them.
mungo said:
Did a good job didn't we! I was there as part of my attachment to RPU... There were in total 8 coppers there including me along with the VOSA inspectors. You wouldn't believe the condition of some of the vehicles! Tyres worn through to the cord, steering racks close to breaking... unbelievable stuff - I was one of the people responsible for taking these vehicles off the road and it feels good to see it posted up here. These vehicles were being used to drive kids to school! Unbelievable!
I used to travel to college in Eastleigh on the Solent Blue Line 48C. At the time most the buses on that route would be of interest to a transport museum, it was only seven years ago so some of them are probably running now. One was a suffix T-reg double decker and the back seats were *black* around the edges where exhaust fumes were leaking from the engine compartment! I complained to the drivers several times (I'm sure there was CO entering the passenger deck) - in retrospect I should have written to the council really.
Also I used to travel to school on buses run by Hellyer's of Fareham. They were ancient in 1990-95 (suffix S I think) and I recently saw the SAME buses running on the route. I imagine the upper structures are a lot weaker than modern buses and would be completely destroyed in a roll-over collision. The route I was on did have some reasonably steep drop-offs and the drivers don't dawdle!
edit: Yes, they are on their fleet list! They were a Leyland Plaxton Supreme like this:
www.leytransport.i12.com/scemid74.htm
Gareth
>> Edited by g_attrill on Thursday 21st April 17:50
mungo said:mungo - generally, the adverse comments on here about the 'police' are aimed at the police service and what it has become since being renamed and politicised; and, except for certain examples of bad 'service' from, or unacceptable behaviour by, individual officers, there is little criticsm of the real BiB. You already know that, but it still needs saying from time to time. No BiB on here (*) should feel that I and other are getting at them or their colleagues, but at the system that has, all too sadly, eroded much of the respect 'Middle England' had for the police force - Streaky
... Most of the time people on this site like to moan about the police and will snipe at any opportunity ...
(*) - St
might be an exception for some of his comments and his recent decision to go 'scamering', but he earned respect for some of his statements. mungo said:
Eleven vehicles were stopped during the checks – four of these were taken off the road immediately by vehicle examiners from VOSA for being in an un-roadworthy condition. Defects included an exhaust that allowed fumes into the vehicle, a broken emergency exit, faulty steering and tyres, and illegal tyres.
Did a good job didn't we! I was there as part of my attachment to RPU... There were in total 8 coppers there including me along with the VOSA inspectors. You wouldn't believe the condition of some of the vehicles! Tyres worn through to the cord, steering racks close to breaking... unbelievable stuff - I was one of the people responsible for taking these vehicles off the road and it feels good to see it posted up here. These vehicles were being used to drive kids to school! Unbelievable!
Und have been saying this for ages...s/cams do not cop defective cars. But you only targeted one type....as relative of person killed by defective truck...would expect all dodgy looking vehicles to be targetted. In fact - these mini-bus operators will have other buses und trucks und taxis..... ist there going to be routine hit on their fleet?
mungo said:
Another thing we were checking up was criminal records of the drivers paticularly to see if they were sex offenders
>> Edited by mungo on Wednesday 20th April 18:47
But mungo, Liebchen, presumably these mini-bus firms have been contracted to take children to school. Have they not been subjected to that £60 CREB thing as par for course?
Und....all this proves is that so far - they have not been caught. It does not mean anything more than that.
Und I do find it a bit of strange attitude that anyone who works or comes, through taxi driving, into ephemeral contact mit kids ist "sex offender" until proven otherwise. (und this ist from someone who has now adopted child who was unlucky enough to come into contact mit one such person (who did not get locked up for as long as he should have been) - but who has had to have this CREB thing because of the fostering thing. Presumably this CREB ist routine for all these drivers who work mit public. Ist not just children wwho get attacked by perverts.
But this fear of sex offender lurking behind every bush ist bizarre anyway. Ist one of the reasons why these kids do not walk or get normal bus to school. Ist not the case ... these truly evil people are known und closely linked to victims - mit odd exception to rule. But we cannot continue seeing "bogeymen" in every routine activity. Ist not normal und ist creating atmosphere of fear.
streaky said:
Another thing we were checking up was criminal records of the drivers paticularly to see if they were sex offenders.
Well, don't keep us in suspense!!!
BTW - good job well done!
Streaky
Ermm.... you sure about this ? They're supposed to be CRB checked.
Having said that, the CRB doesn't work ; I'd rather the cops did it. They got it right.
mungo said:
Sorry wild I don't know anything about anything called CREB... Always worth checking people out though... there are more sex offenders out there than people realise. There is probably no more now than there was before but these days we can find out anything we want about peoples criminal records by a quick press of a radio pressle and a bit of vocal cord
True.. Liebchen. These people existed when I was a kitten .. und there are probably the same number now as there were then,
This Criminal records check ist thisw thing which was introduced in crashing great hurry after the Soham tragedy und fiasco. Only given the appalling record keeping .. ist doubtful that Huntley would have even been exposed by this.
You see - what am digging und chipping at...? Ist only as good as your record keeping - und given the constraints und pressures.....not always recorded.... und not always BiB fault.
Ist just observation....it just comes across as if anyone who wishes to work mit children ist a bit odd...
We had the check as foster parents und adopting parents... und all this proved was what we already knew about ourselves... that we have not broken any laws...or been copped breaking any laws...und the only laws we could ever be copped at ist ....speeding....
in any case.WildCat said:WildCat - IIRC, the relevant CRB checks were introduced before the Soham tragedy (4 Aug 2002).
thisw thing which was introduced in crashing great hurry after the Soham tragedy und fiasco. Only given the appalling record keeping .. ist doubtful that Huntley would have even been exposed by this.
The Police Act 1997 established the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The Protection of Children Act 1999 provided provided for the CRB to administer checks with an obligation on organisations to carry out checks on new recruits and volunteers. I believe this included taxi drivers and school bus drivers.
Streaky
streaky said:
thisw thing which was introduced in crashing great hurry after the Soham tragedy und fiasco. Only given the appalling record keeping .. ist doubtful that Huntley would have even been exposed by this.
WildCat - IIRC, the relevant CRB checks were introduced before the Soham tragedy (4 Aug 2002).
The Police Act 1997 established the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The Protection of Children Act 1999 provided provided for the CRB to administer checks with an obligation on organisations to carry out checks on new recruits and volunteers. I believe this included taxi drivers and school bus drivers.
Streaky
Ach ja.... Du hast Recht, mein Liebster...
I think I am recalling the problem mit the checks around that time.... seem to recall lot of teachers unable to start work in the following September as result.
But I hear from teachers I know that this check ist required each time they change job - even if within same authority. Ist from same source each time ... so nothing new ist discovered und each check costs us £60 ....
Ist no wonder they wish to hike up the council tax 
Und then add to this these - cooks , dinner ladies und taxi drivers und so on who ferry kittens to school...und check ist valid (I think) for three years...
But surely...the CRB certificate should be mit insurance copy certificate mit driver... und this verified at time.
But if these vehicles were withdrawn... how did the kittens continue to school? Und what action ist to be taken against driver (as he should have refused to drive heap) und operator of defective taxi service? Personally I think the kittens were in more danger from this than from potential kiddy fiddler behind the wheel... (und ist this nbot typisch!
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