Agenda item

To consider whether the individual should have their private hire/hackney carriage driver’s licence suspended or revoked.

The Panel and Officers present introduced themselves to the driver.

The Licensing and Compliance Officer gave a summary of their report which requested that Members determine whether the driver is considered ‘fit and proper’ to continue holding their licence.

The driver apologised for their lack of attention to detail.

The driver confirmed:

·        The tracking issue highlighted in September was an advisory, which they had resolved in a timely manner.

·        They regularly check the tread on their tyres, and that the tyres visually looked adequate.

·        They are responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle.

·        They weren`t aware that they could check the inner edge of the tyre by turning the steering wheel whilst stationary to view.

The Licensing and Compliance Officer confirmed that it was possible that the tread on the tyres were adequate, it was the inner edge of the tyre that was damaged.

The driver left the meeting at 12:41pm and the meeting was adjourned; the Panel retired to make its decision.

The driver rejoined the meeting at 12:51pm and the meeting reconvened.

The Chair read the driver the decision notice.

The driver left the meeting at 12:58pm.

DECISION NOTICE

The matter before the Panel today is an application for the review of the HC/PHV driver’s licence no PH/HC 1884 held by the driver and due to expire on 30^th November of this year. They are a self employed driver and the owner of a Mercedes E220 hackney carriage vehicle registration number E2 SRK and licence plate number HCV 062.

We have had the opportunity of reading the officer’s report in this case, a copy of which has been served on the driver, and we have also seen, as has the driver, the background documents annexed thereto including the inspection history of their car. We have also had the opportunity of hearing from the Licensing Officer and have read the papers before us most carefully. The driver has also appeared before us via Zoom today and we have listened to what they have had to tell us.

The facts of the case are that on the 23^rd March 2022 the Authority received an email notification of an inspection failure report on the driver’s hackney carriage from Takeley Performance Tyre and Exhaust one of the Council’s approved garages. The report stated that the reason for the inspection failure was “Nearside and offside front tyres worn to ply cord inner edge”. A copy of this is before us.

Further examination of records pertaining to the vehicle’s history held by the Council revealed that on 21^st September 2021, the driver’s vehicle passed the inspection report but with an advisory note, “Nearside rear tyre worn on inner edge nail in nearside rear tyre. Offside rear tyre tread depth low”. Again, this is before us and shows clearly the driver had notice of the potential problem.

On Wednesday 6^th April 2022 the driver took part in a virtual video meeting with the Senior Compliance Officer and the Compliance Officer to discuss the circumstances of the failure. The driver explained that the vehicle inspector had told them that the tracking was out and that they would not have seen the fault in the tyres unless they were under the vehicle or had removed the wheel. The driver stated that they had not experienced any change of handling when driving the vehicle and thought they visually checked their vehicle properly on a regular basis, but apparently they do not run their hands around the inner edge of the tyres.

The driver admitted that he may have been complacent as the vehicle is checked every six months, that they have it serviced often although not at a Mercedes dealer as the last two years had been financially tough. The driver was deeply sorry but admitted that they had no excuse for the lapse. The driver could add nothing to this when they addressed us and thanked the case officer for the advice they had given.

On 14^th April 2022 the driver was informed by email that their licence was being referred to the Licensing Committee for consideration of revocation or suspension. The driver was invited to submit a written statement to add anything further to what they had already stated.

Section 1, of Appendix B of the Council’s Licensing Policy relating to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire trades states that proprietors should

Keep the vehicle in a clean and well-maintained condition at all times.

The policy document is included within or bundle of papers and a copy has been served upon the driver.

By having two tyres with the cord ply exposed, the driver has failed to maintain his vehicle and therefore fallen short of the standards expected of vehicle proprietors as stipulated by the Council’s policy. We find their attitude concerning: this is the second consecutive test when issues were raised regarding this vehicle’s tyres, albeit not the same tyres, and it is clear the driver runs tyres down to the legal minimum tread. This is not acceptable.

The primary function of this Committee is the protection of the travelling public. This extends to the safety and roadworthiness of the vehicles in which they are transported, and it is a very serious matter to allow tyres to reach this condition. Mercifully there has not been an accident. The legislation makes this clear as does the case law and all authority in the area. Our role is to determine whether or not the person before us is a fit and proper person to continue to hold a HC/PHV licence and if we consider that they are not, then our duty is clear – we should revoke the licence.

There is no excuse. We have heard from the driver and we have taken what they say into account but the fact remains the driver had been warned on a previous occasion that their tyres were verging on the illegal and they only did the necessary minimum. The driver took no proactive action to check the other tyres. Even though ultimately, they did not face criminal charges, for which they should count themself fortunate, and nor was there an accident, they knew they would probably need two more new tyres in the near future and were not proactive. They omitted to undertake the most elementary checks upon their vehicle and we do wonder how well this car is maintained. We add that each defective tyre would attract three penalty points and of course twelve amount to disqualification under the totting up procedure.

Accordingly we revoke their licence. The driver has a right of appeal to the Magistrates Court which must be exercised within 21 days and the licence remains in being pending the determination of such an appeal. The driver will receive a letter from the Legal Department explaining the position.

We also have to consider the question of the car. Only a licensed driver may drive a licensed vehicle and if the driver chooses not to appeal our decision then they will not be able to drive their Mercedes when the appeal window closes. Accordingly, therefore, we revoke the vehicle licence under the same conditions as we do their drivers’ licence and in reality they stand or fall together.