FIT AND PROPER


THREE RIVERS PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER BANNED FOR USING PHONE ON M25 GATWICK RIDE


A private hire driver has lost his licence after using his phone while driving a customer on the M25. Sajid Mahmood, from Hemel Hempstead, has had his PH licence revoked by Three Rivers DC after he was issued a fixed penalty notice from Surrey Police. He was stopped for using his mobile while driving to Gatwick airport in the


early morning on July 7, 2023. The conviction involved six penalty points and a £200 fine so the council revoked the licence “with immediate effect” a week later. However, this was appealed at St Albans Magistrates’ Court on February 12. Delivering their decision, the magistrates said: “By using your mobile device whilst


driving you have not only put yourself at risk but also members of the public, therefore we find you no longer fit and proper to be a licensed driver and uphold the decision of the licensing authority." Mr Mahmood was ordered to pay the council’s costs of £1,200. He will not be permitted to reapply for a licence for four years.


BOLTON CABBIE LOSES LICENCE OVER INVOLVEMENT IN SALE OF ILLICIT TOBACCO


A taxi driver who was implicated in the sale of illicit tobacco lost their licence


according to Bolton


Council. The driver was one of a number to be brought before a licensing committee recently. The committee’s decision said: “The applicant pleaded guilty to ten charges of possession for supply of illegal tobacco and was sentenced to a community order


with 300 hours of unpaid work in addition to financial penalties. “The committee expressed con- cern that the applicant would be working in an environment inter- acting with vulnerable people.” Meanwhile two applicants were not allowed a licence as a result of traffic offences in the last three years. One was convicted of speeding while the other was


convicted of driving uninsured. The decision said: “The council’s Statement of Fitness and Suit- ability indicates, where a person has a conviction less than three years’ old, then the application would be refused. The three year period had not elapsed in relation to this application. The committee found no reason to depart from the guidance.”


CARLISLE CABBIE APPEALS 12 PENALTY POINTS FOR RUNNING SCHOOL CONTRACT CAR WITH NO MOT


A bulb, which was out of alignment, was enough to land a Carlisle taxi driver with 12 penalty points by Cumberland Council. Andy Kidd appealed the decision at a meeting of the council’s regu- latory sub-committee on 29 January. Mr Kidd,


a licensed hackney and


PH driver/operator, received the points for having an unlicensed vehicle or using a licensed vehicle without insurance or without a


PHTM MARCH 2024


valid periodical vehicle test. Licensing officer, Amanda Bailey, told members the vehicle in quest- ion had no valid MOT and had been used by a driver for a school contract on November 2. She said that, as the owner of the vehicle, it was Mr Kidd’s responsibility to ensure the MOT was current and he admitted it was “human error” and he now has a “robust system in place” to make sure such an error did not happen again.


Mr Kidd said the car failed the MOT as a bulb was out of alignment and in the past it would have been normal practice for the mechanic to just correct the alignment. After a short period of deliberation members decided that the appeal was not upheld. Speaking after the ruling Mr Kidd said that he was planning to appeal against the decision and the hearing would be at the city’s magistrate’s court.


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