Author: Ollie Cowan

Sefton Council is asking residents to work with them to help reduce the air

pollution caused by taxis, HGVs and buses.

Traffic places a considerable threat on the quality of Sefton’s air, so if vehicles are polluting more than they should be, they are causing a serious threat to the environment.

Sefton Council wants to wants to enlist the support of communities to make sure that vehicles which are producing excessive smoke are reported to the appropriate authorities so that the fault can be rectified.

Residents can report overly-polluting taxis to Sefton Council’s licensing team by making a note of the taxi driver number which usually appears on a small plate above the license plate and should have the Sefton Council logo on it. Taxis can be reported online at www.sefton.gov.uk/taxi

Smoky HGVs and buses can be reported to the driver and vehicles standards agency (DVSA) online via https://www.gov.uk/report-smoky-vehicle or by calling the DVSA on 0300 123 9000 (select option 7).

The information required is:

• Type of Vehicle (HGV heavy goods vehicle or PSV public service vehicle)
• Vehicle Registration Mark
• Company Name (if apparent)
• Road Name/Number where vehicle seen
• Date & Time of sighting

 Well maintained vehicles should produce very little smoke from exhausts except when they are starting up, accelerating hard or climbing steep hills.

However, some vehicles emit dense plumes of smoke and may not meet legal emission standards.

These vehicles will undoubtedly create higher levels of pollutants which in turn can have an adverse effect on people’s health and the surrounding environment.

Cllr Paulette Lapin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regulation and Compliance, said: “We don’t want vehicles that emit plumes of smoke to be welcome on Sefton’s roads. Our taxi licensing team will review any vehicles that are reported to them to ensure they have an up to date MOT.

“We are working hard to keep Sefton’s air clean and in the past few years, the council has implemented a number of measures to reduce pollution across the borough resulting in improvements in air quality”.

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “Air pollution can have major health consequences and micro-pollutants such as PM 2.5s are small enough to travel into the respiratory system.

“With many Sefton roads providing a route to the docks, HGV traffic can be high and if these are releasing excessive fumes they can have a detrimental effect on people’s health and the environment. By reporting smoky HGVs and buses to the DVSA, we can all help to protect Sefton’s air.”