Minutes:
The Licensing Officer:
a) stated that the licensee had held a Private Hire Drivers Licence since November 2012
b) highlighted that on 5 May 2022 the licence holder contacted the Licensing Team to say they had been convicted of driving without due care and attention (CD10) and received 9 penalty points. He also stated that this now took him to a total of 15 valid penalty points
c) highlighted that within the current Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy it stated the following in relation to penalty points and taking a stepped approach to driver licence enforcement;
‘If a driver receives 9 or more penalty points for minor or some hybrid traffic offences, the matter will be referred to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Sub-Committee for a hearing. The driver will be expected to address the issues before the Sub-Committee.’
d) explained that the current Policy also stated the following in relation to the totting up process;
‘In the case of an existing Hackney Carriage or PHV driver where the ‘totting-up’ disqualification of a DVLA licence is considered by the court, even if the curt does not disqualify, the Council is likely to revoke the Hackney Carriage or PHV licence. At least 2 to 3 years should elapse before the individual is considered for a licence.’
e) highlighted that the licensee previously appeared before the Sub-Committee on 7 January 2015 as he had been disqualified from driving for a period of 56 days for exceeding a 50mph speed limit, admitting he was doing 100mph, the licence was granted.
The Sub-Committee questioned the applicant and received responses from the applicant.
The Decision was made as follows:
The licence be revoked with the applicant being able to re-apply for his Private Hire Drivers Licence in 12 months.
Reason for the Decision:
- The Sub-Committee believed that the circumstances around the CD10 offence caused concern for the welfare of the public given its seriousness. The licensee admitted that conditions were not suitable leading up to the offence but still made the manoeuvre which caused a serious accident.
- The licensee also explained to the Sub-Committee that whilst there was very little injury caused during the collision both he and first responders believed that he was incredibly lucky in the circumstances and that it could have been much worse.
- The licensee was well aware of the seriousness of the accident and was remorseful in respect of this, but the Sub-Committee believed that the licensee was indifferent as to whether he had a licence or not as he was not an active Private Hire Driver.
- The licensee explained to the committee that this was not his full-time employment, but his license was a backup as he was only employed in a temporary contract and this could be ended quickly, his license gave him an instant opportunity to earn a wage should his temporary contact be terminated.
- The licensee was not driving as a professional driver at the time of the accident but was on a personal errand. However, he acknowledged that the accident was entirely his fault and was due to decisions and manoeuvres that he made. The Sub-Committee had a duty of care to the public and felt that the licensee was not a fit and proper person to hold a Private Hire Drivers Licence.
- The Sub-committee noted that the licensee had been able to obtain a positive letter of recommendation to support the hearing but this was not enough to waylay their fears.
- The Sub-Committee decided to depart from policy and allow the driver to reapply for a Private Hire Drivers Licence in 1 year as some of the points would be removed from his licence by then, however, this was by no means a guarantee that he would be successful in a future application made.