Agenda item

To determine a Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver's licence.

The Enforcement Officer gave a summary of the report.

On 11 December 2018, Chelmsford City Council received a complaint about the driver who was driving in a Chelmsford City Council licensed hackney carriage vehicle on Saturday 08 December 2018. It was alleged that the driver had driven down the A1099 on the wrong carriageway to then enter the exit of the joining roundabout travelling in the wrong direction to enter Baddow Road in Chelmsford.

At interview at Chelmsford City Council, an officer asked the driver ‘did you drive crossing over onto the oncoming lane, entering the exit of the roundabout because as the roads were busy’. The driver replied “yes, the road was busy, but I could clearly see nobody was there.” The Officer asked if he was aware that he could not drive on the incorrect carriageway, nor enter an exit junction of a roundabout. The driver apparently shook his head saying “yes, it was a good night and was the first night I had made £100 already.”

As a result Chelmsford City Council suspended his hackney carriage/private hire drivers licence with immediate effect in the interest of public safety. Section 11 of the Council’s current licensing policy surrounding driver’s states a driver should not to have had ‘a hackney carriage and/or private hire driver’s licence revoked within the last 3 years.’ Therefore, the driver no longer met the Council’s licensing standards.

During a phone interview with Uttlesford District Council, the driver said the road had been clear when he committed the offence. He had been tired and the distance had only been a few metres. When asked why he did not notify the Council of the suspension of his licence by Chelmsford City Council, he stated that it was because the suspension was temporary as it was going to their Committee. He said he only found out about the revocation a couple of days before flying to Greece for surgery and so did not think to contact the Council.

The driver said the road had been clear when he committed the offence and he had not been thinking clearly due to health problems. He was sorry for his mistake.

At 1.45, the Committee retired to make its decision.

At 2.00, the Committee returned.

The decision was read to the driver.

DECISION NOTICE

The application before the Panel today is for the suspension or revocation of the driver’s  joint private hire/hackney carriage licence number PH/HC1692 dated 19^th August 2016 in accordance with S61  (1) (b) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.- any other reasonable cause. The licence is due to expire on 31^st July 2019.  He is currently employed by West End Cars, an operator holding dual licences from UDC and from Chelmsford City Council.  The driver similarly was dual licenced, but his licence number 594 issued by that authority was revoked by them on 28^th February 2019 as hereinafter appears.

On 11 December 2018, Chelmsford City Council received a complaint regarding the driver’s driving of a Chelmsford City Council licensed vehicle on Saturday 08 December 2018.   He was alleged to have driven down the A1099 on the wrong carriageway, then entered the exit of the joining roundabout, still travelling in the wrong direction, and entered Baddow Road. The next day, the driver attended the Chelmsford City Council Offices and met their Licensing Officer.  

The driver was shown a map and the allegation was explained to him.   He denied it and details of his exchanges with the Chelmsford Licensing Officer are set out in the papers before us.

As a result on 12^th December, Chelmsford City Council suspended his hackney carriage/private hire drivers licence with immediate effect in the interest of public safety under section 61(2B) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.  The combined hackney carriage/private hire driver’s licence was thereafter referred to Chelmsford City Council’s Regulatory Committee sitting on 28 February 2019. The driver did not attend the meeting and the Committee decided to revoke his licence.  The driver did not appeal this decision.

In the meantime, Essex Police investigated the driver for an offence of driving without due care and attention.   On 02 January 2019, they offered him a fixed penalty notice carrying three penalty points and a £100 fine.

On receipt of the notification of revocation from Chelmsford City Council, this authority opened a file. The UDC  Enforcement Officer carried out a telephone interview with the driver on 19 March 2019. He explained that he was currently in Greece and had been there for about one month due to neck surgery.   He remained willing to proceed with the interview and therefore the driver was asked why he drove the wrong way down the road in Chelmsford. and he explained that it was only a few metres,  he was tired and it was about 2am.   He explained that he now realised that it was a stupid thing to do.  

The driver was asked why he did not disclose the penalty points and he said that he had been busy sorting out his neck operation and he had been out of the UK for periods of time.   The surgery was meant to be on 13 January but did not happen until 15 February. The driver was then asked why he did not notify the Council of the suspension of his licence by Chelmsford City Council and he stated that it was temporary as it was going to their Committee. The driver also explained that he only found out about the revocation a couple of days before the telephone conversation.

The driver provided emails on 19 March 2019, to show details of his flights to Greece.   He also forwarded an email from the Democratic Services Officer at Chelmsford City Council dated 29 March 2019.

We note that the driver is in breach of the Council’s Licensing Standards for Drivers in three respects.  Firstly, Clause 11 of Appendix A to the Council’s Licensing Standards states:

“Not to have had a hackney carriage and/or private hire driver’s licence revoked within the last 3 years.”

Furthermore, Clauses 18 c and d respectively of Appendix G require drivers to notify the Council in writing of the following matters:-

“Any convictions, cautions or fixed penalty notices (save for in respect of civil parking fixed penalty notices which cannot result in the endorsement of points upon the driver’s licence) within 7 days of the date of conviction, caution or the issue of a fixed penalty notice;” and

“Any investigation being carried out into the activities of the driver by the police or a regulatory authority of which the driver is aware within 7 days of the driver becoming aware of the investigation.”

We have read the papers before us and we have heard from the driver. We note that he has some health problems and he also made some complaints regarding the way in which Chelmsford City Council dealt with the matter. We also observe that he initially did not appear to consider the offence to be very serious, and continued working, immediately picking up a passenger and in our view showing limited insight into the matter: we cannot agree with his assessment, we also note he only acknowledged the seriousness of the matter today when it was put directly to him.

We are not a criminal Court and our findings are made on a balance of probabilities. Nor are we bound by the findings made by Chelmsford City Council: our discretion is free standing and it is for us to decide based upon what we have before us to decide whether or not the driver remains a safe and suitable person to hold an Uttlesford hackney carriage/PHV drivers licence. Unfortunately our view is that he is not.

What the driver did in the small hours of 8/9 December last year was very dangerous indeed.  Though he said the roads were deserted, if they had not been, or another vehicle or pedestrian had suddenly appeared, the consequences could have been catastrophic. He has said he is sorry, but sorry in this case is not good enough given what might have happened.

Paragraph 8 of Appendix G to the Council’s Licensing Standards for Drivers requires drivers to

“Take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of passengers”

Our view is that this responsibility extends to all members of the public who might be encountered by a licensed driver in the course of his work, and in our view the driver totally disregarded this fundamental obligation to act safely.

The primary function of this Committee is to ensure the safety of members of the travelling public.  In doing as he did, the driver clearly ignored this obligation, and though the Police chose to deal with the matter by way of a fixed penalty notice, he was nevertheless committing a criminal  offence the consequences of which could have been catastrophic. In the interests of the proper protection of the public  we consider that  we have no alternative but to revoke the driver’s  licence with immediate effect under S61 (b) of the 1976 Act as he is no longer a fit and proper person to hold it.

There is a right of appeal against this decision which must be exercised within a period of 21 days.  Normally the licence continues in being pending the resolution of the appellate process, but since the revocation was immediate on the grounds of public safety this will not apply. The driver will receive a letter from the Legal Department explaining this.