Agenda item

To determine a Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Drivers Licence.

The procedure for determining private hire drivers’ licences was read to the applicant. The Committee considered the report of the Enforcement Officer.

The driver said the report was incorrect to state his wife was suffering from depression. However, he did currently have depression.

The driver said he had been caught speeding driving back from Gatwick, and had paid his fine immediately. However when he received a letter that said he had not paid, he discovered he had two separate fines for two separate speeding offences committed within minutes of each other. He had received a summons to court and had gone expecting to only receive three points on his licence. Instead he had been given six points, and so his total number of points now stood at nine.

The Enforcement Officer explained that the driver had received nine points. Three were for a speeding offence and six for failure to give information as to the identityof the driver. However he should also have received another three points for the other speeding offence on the same day where he was speeding twice as referred to previously. For an unexplained reason, three points had not been added to the driver’s licence. In response, the driver said he had been told he would receive six points for the speeding offences, and another three for failure to give information as to the identity of the driver.

Councillor Gerard said that since the driver had previously committed other speeding offences, it did not seem that he was serious about rectifying this trend. The driver said he did around 30,000 miles (I thought he said more but I cannot remember) (it was 80,000 every year for the past 30 years) every year and so occasionally he had fallen foul of speed regulations. Gantries were particularly problematic for this. However he should have had another person in place to deal with administration, because his wife who typically dealt with that part of the business was currently ill.

Councillor Gerard said there were triggers from at least 2012 which could have been responded to. There had now been three instances of the driver failing to disclose information when it had been requested. This indicated the business was not being operated as it could have been. Councillor Hicks said he was concerned about the driver’s inability to understand the conditions of the licence and the expectations placed upon him.

The driver said he was under a lot of stress. Revenue had been cut dramatically by Uber and other companies. A taxi firm was a very hard business to run these days. The potential loss of his private hire licence was causing him more stress than ever.

In response to questions from Councillor Barker, the driver said his mother was now doing the administration work at the office. He could not afford to hire someone else. He had been driving the company car when caught speeding.

The driver said he had never had any complaints about his company. He put heart and soul into his business and it was proving very hard to run. Gantries were proving to be a problem for a lot of drivers. He had only ever had a ticket for speeding a couple of miles over the speed limit.

At 11:45, the committee withdrew to make its decision.

At 12:00, the committee returned.

DECISION:

The application before the Panel today is for the suspension or revocation of the driver’s joint private hire/hackney carriage licence number PHD0585 dated summer 2015, in accordance with S61  (1) (b) Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.- any other reasonable cause. The three year licence is due to expire on 30^th September 2018. The driver is also the holder of the private hire operator licence for Connections Cars and is the proprietor of four private hire vehicles.

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 he, the following background documents:-

a.    Uttlesford District Council licensing standards for drivers.

b.    Uttlesford District Council conditions of licence for drivers.

c.    Suspension letter dated 15 October 2012.

d.    Suspension letter dated 11 December 2014.

e.    Fixed penalty notice dated 07 December 2016.

f.     Drivercheck of DVLA records for the driver dated 26 October 2017.

g.    Notes of meeting with the driver dated 14 November 2017.

The Licensing Department carries out annual DVLA checks on all licensed drivers as part of the Council’s due diligence process.  The driver’s check was carried out on 26^th October 2017 and revealed two motoring offences. These were firstly, a SP30 (speeding) offence committed on 10 November 2016 for which his licence was endorsed with three penalty points.   Secondly, it also revealed an MS90 offence (failure to give information as to identity of driver) on 19 December 2016 in respect of which he was convicted on 23 May 2017 and for which he received six penalty points on his licence.   He therefore has a total of 9 penalty points on his licence and we note that a previous fixed penalty notice for speeding on 08 January 2014, has dropped off in January 2017 under the totting up procedures.

Since the driver has nine points upon his licence, six of which were imposed on one occasion, he does not meet paragraph 2 of Appendix A of the Council’s Licensing Standards for Drivers.  This states:-

“No convictions or fixed penalty notices endorsed on a driver’s licence within the last three years where 6 or more points have been endorsed in respect of a single offence,”

Furthermore, paragraph 18 (c) of Appendix G of the Council’s Licensing Standards requires drivers to notify UDC in writing of:-

“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”

The driver attended a meeting with the Licensing Officer on 14^th November 2017. He gave the following explanation:-

·         He confirmed that he was the operator of Connection Cars which employs six drivers (including himself) and that he has four vehicles.

·         The driver was first asked about the SP30 offence on 10 November 2016 involving travelling at about 38mph in a 30mph zone in Bishops Stortford.   He was caught by a speed gun. He was asked why he failed to report this and he said that his wife normally deals with the administration for the business but she is bed bound with chronic fatigue. He also explained that he is suffering from depression and admitted that he is ‘letting things slip.’

·         The driver was then asked about the MS90 offence and he explained that is was in relation to a speeding offence on the M25.   He said that he was caught speeding in both Kent and Essex within approximately four minutes doing about 57mph in a 50mph speed limit. He was not aware that two offences had taken place and paid the Kent fine straight away.   He then claimed that he then received a telephone call from Essex Police stating that he failed to respond to their notice of intended prosecution within the given time and was to be summonsed to Colchester Magistrates Court; he claimed that he knew nothing of this notice of intended prosecution. For this offence he was fined a total of £750 and his license was endorsed with six penalty points.   He did not appeal the decision. Again, his explanation for failing to notify the Council of this offence amounted to blaming his wife. The driver stated that his wife did the bookings, accounts, dealt with fines and other administration and now mistakes are being made

We have read the papers before us and we have heard from the driver. He has accepted no responsibility for his actions and is blaming everyone but himself for the events of the past year. We appreciate that he may be under stress but nevertheless he has been apprehended on three occasions for speeding, he has failed to disclose information to the police and he has failed to disclose the convictions to Uttlesford District Council

We also note the driver’s history, and that is one of failing to disclose speeding offences to the Council. He has shown no contrition, but instead has sought to blame others for his own omissions. His operator’s licence is not up for review today, and if the driver is not driving full time, then he has an opportunity to put his house in order.

However, the primary function of this Committee is the protection of the public and we consider that we have no alternative but to revoke the driver’s licences under S61 (b) of the 1976 Act as he is no longer a fit and proper person to hold them.

There is a right of appeal against this decision which must be exercised within a period of 21 days and during this period the licenses remain in force. The driver will receive a letter from the Legal Department explaining this.

The meeting ended at 12pm.