Liverpool Taxi Drivers: Random Drug Tests Approved

January 14, 2020

Liverpool taxi drivers will face random drug tests after a policy was approved by the city licensing committee last December.

After 114 drivers were arrested on suspicion of drug- driving between May 2018 and May 2019, city manager Kevin Johnson said urine testing was ‘a necessary step’.

He said the council must ‘act in the interest of the public safety’. Whilst taxi driver James Bradley said that the move was ‘overdue’ and ‘offers peace of mind to the public’. Also, he believes that ‘almost all drivers will agree with it and all the reputable companies too’

The city council said drug use was ‘totally incompatible’ with being a driver in Liverpool. The testing began before Christmas and licensed drivers will be chosen at random on a monthly basis to be tested. If a driver refused without reasonable cause, their license could be revoked.

Tom McIntyre, from the Unite union, said the move gave “reassurance for the travelling public”, but added that rehabilitation should be offered to drivers who failed the test.

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