Minutes:
The Licensing Officer:
a) explained that the Licensee had held a private hire drivers licence since 22nd March 2017.
b) advised that on the 24th June 2019 a complaint was received about the Licensee’s conduct by the Licensing Team from the father of a young man aged 20 who had gone missing in the early hours of 23rd June 2019 after being picked up as a fare by the Licensee. His son was found at around 5am on the same day after being left on the side of a road between the pickup and drop off locations. His wallet and phone were also missing. It was later discovered that the Licensee had kept the individual’s mobile phone. The passenger’s disappearance on the night had caused his relatives to file a missing person’s report with the Lincolnshire Police.
c) advised that a complaint had also been received about the Licensee’s conduct from the mother of the passenger’s fiancée.
d) highlighted that following the receipt of the complaints the Licensing Team had emailed a copy of the complaint to the Licensee’s private hire operator which had spoken to the driver regarding the events that took place on 23rd June 2019.
e) stated that the Licensee was called into the Council Offices on the 24th June 2019 to go explain the incident to Licensing Officers.
f) highlighted that on the 25th June 2019, audio recordings of the conversations between the operator and the Licensee during the incident had been received by the Licensing Team from the operator.
g) highlighted that on 3rd July 2019 a statement was received from the individual who was approached by the passenger in the early hours on 23rd June 2019, who stated that the passenger seemed disorientated, lost and in a panicked state.
The Sub-Committee listened to the audio recording before asking the licensee relevant questions regarding the complaints received.
Decision
That the Licensee’s private hire driver’s licence be suspended until the Licensee had completed the full BTEC qualification.
Reasons for the Decision
· The Sub-Committee believed the Licensee’s explanation that the passenger had been sick in the vehicle and had tried to leave the vehicle whilst it was in motion.
· The Sub-Committee believed that the Licensee’s primary concern was payment of his fare and clean-up costs and that he regarded this as more important than the welfare and safety of his passenger.
· The Sub-Committee noted that the private hire operator had expressed concerns regarding the duty of care for the passenger during the incident, as shown by the audio recordings.
· The Sub-Committee believed that the Licensee did not fully understand the seriousness of his duty of care for the passenger.
· The Sub-Committee believed that the Licensee made a wrong moral judgement to abandon his passenger who was vulnerable and intoxicated in an agricultural area in the early hours of the morning without any means of the passenger obtaining or summoning help.
· The Sub-Committee noted that the Licensee was argumentative during the hearing and seemingly lacking in remorse for his actions.