Time for Takeaway licence plates?

[Resident]

Is it time that councils introduced taxi style licencing for takeaway delivery drivers?

In my home town we're plagued by these drivers who obviously believe that laws & rules don't apply because they work for Ubereat/Justeat etc.

Local plod recently descended on a couple of popular fast food outlet and out of 34 vehicles checked

2 no licence
4 MOT failure defects
16 improper insurance.
5 using mobile whilst driving
3 immigration offences (not specified)

Speaking with a local officer he reckons this sting only caught the tip of the iceberg, partly because they have to catch them with food in their bags & staking out outlets means police easily spotted and targets spooked

After that sting locals were moaning on facebook that they couldn't get food delivered. Word had spread amongst the dodgy deliverers and they'd all gone home to avoid being pulled.

Complaining about drivers to the companies that employ them often proves fruitless too.

So time to introduce licencing with visible plates ala taxis? That way all drivers will have to be checked for the all valid documentation & gives the public an avenue to complain, giving the driver an incentive to drive properly

 

[Resident]

Dominos are being very helpful. They passed on their driver’s details and the details of their insurance broker with no hassle and admitted responsibility straight away with a lot of apologising.

I get that driving off after an accident is an offence, but the police have the full facts and have said they aren’t going to take things further. I’m not sure what I gain by pushing them on that. The driver has already lost his job.

But he'll most likely now just go out, fail to declare the collision & take out a standard, non H&R policy on some cheap rotbox, probably an old Yaris & buy a vetted account from someone with JE/UE, which is why I suggested licencing.

 

[Resident]

Ordered a takeaway a few months back from Uber Eats, it said the delivery driver was on a bicycle which given the distance concerned me that i'd be getting cold food. 15 minutes later I can see him powering his bicycle down the local bypass at a decent rate, probably 60-70 no doubt given how fast the icon was moving.

Just before he got to my house however he seemed to swap his bike for a knackered looking Pug 206 that a quick check suggests was uninsured & had no MOT as of about 18 months prior.

And therein lies the problem.

These drivers buy/register bicycle delivery accounts because the rates are different, in favour of the driver & no need for UE do ask for vehicle documents to prove they're legal.
So in your case you have a person commiting

Fraud
Driving without insurance
Driving without a valid MOT

Wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't licenced either.

Personally I'd be on to local plod and getting the moron off the roads.