Limo safety improving
10:34am Friday 18th July 2008
LIMOUSINE safety appears to have improved for this year's spate of end-of-year school balls.
Officers from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council carried out spot checks on a total of 27 limousines carrying Basingstoke students dressed up in their finest to their summer balls.
On four different nights, they caught five vehicles that were unlicensed for private hire, three of which had nine or more seats and, therefore, fall under different restrictions.
Details of the three have been sent to licensing agency VOSA, and the other two are being investigated further.
These findings are an improvement on last year's stop checks, when out of 39 vehicles and 39 drivers stopped, 14 vehicles and 21 drivers were potentially operating unchecked, unlawfully and uninsured.
Councillor Rita Burgess, chairman of the council's licensing committee, said: "These spot checks send out a clear message that if you don't have the appropriate licences, you are likely to face legal action if you are stopped in this borough."