88 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
MARCH 2009 FIT AND...
ANGRY MORECAMBE TAXI DRIVER LOSES HIS LICENCE
A taxi driver let down the tyres of a police- man’s car minutes after he was given a fixed penalty notice, magis- trates heard. John Mayor, of Brook Road, Morecambe, has now had his private hire driver’s licence revoked.
Lancaster City Council’s licensing committee took the action in November 2008 and Magistrates have now upheld the decision. According to the Lan- caster Guardian, the council committee heard Mr Mayor had been fined for driving in a bus lane by PC Brian Mills-Woods on Sep- tember 20 last year. After he had been issued with the penalty notice he drove around
the one-way system in Lancaster, parked his taxi on Queen Street before walking back to the police car. He then let the tyres down on the rapid-response police vehicle that PC Mills-Woods was driv- ing that evening. PC Mills-Woods was only alerted to the fact his tyres had been deflated when he went back to his car to col- lect more penalty tickets and noticed Mr Mayor crouching by the car. Mr Mayor was then arrested by PC Mills-Woods.
Mr Mayor appealed the decision but Mag- istrates confirmed the committee’s decision that in view of his actions, he was not a fit and proper person
to drive members of the public. Councillor Tony Wade, licensing regulatory committee chairman, said: “A licence issued by the council to a pri- vate hire driver is in effect the council’s seal of approval that the holder is a fit and proper person to drive members of the public. “Where we have evi- dence to the contrary we must take action. “In this instance the committee was of the opinion that Mr Mayor’s reckless actions could have put lives at risk. “Due to the seriousness of the incident there was reasonable cause to revoke his private hire licence and I am pleased that this deci- sion has been upheld.”
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BAN FOR SOUTH SHIELDS CABBIE WHO HAD NO TAXI LICENCE
A cabbie has been banned from the road for taking passengers despite not having a taxi licence or insur- ance.
According to the South Shields Gazette, South Tyneside Magistrates heard how Kirpa Singh used his unlicensed Vauxhall Vectra to make 281 taxi journeys over seven weeks. Singh, 20, worked as a hackney carriage driver until last year, but he gave up his licence to become a private hire driver for Express Taxis, based in Farnham Road, South Shields. However, the court heard, Singh failed to apply for a private hire licence and, by the time he started his new job, his vehicle insurance
with Norwich Union had also run out. Angus Taylor, prose- cuting, said: “Someone notified South Tyneside Coun- cil that Mr Singh’s cab did not have a taxi licence plate on it. “Further inquiries were made, and it was revealed that not only did Mr Singh’s car not have a taxi licence, but he did not have any vehicle insurance either. “Between September 2, 2008, and October 19, 2008, all his journeys were made with no insurance or no taxi licence.
“Who knows what the consequences would have been if there had been an accident.” Singh, of Stanhope Road, South Shields,
pleaded guilty to both offences. He was banned from driving for four months and fined £250, with £85 costs.
Magistrates heard that Singh was of good character and “knows what he did was wrong”. Kevin Smallcombe, defending, said: “He works very hard for long hours, and is the breadwinner in his house. He is a thor- oughly decent person who has made a mis- take and has apologised for this. “No fare-paying mem- ber of the public was put at risk at any point.
“He is now registered and holds the plate for this.”
LARGE FINE FOR GWENT FIRM AFTER LIMO CAUGHT FIRE WITH PASSENGERS IN IT
A Gwent firm was ordered to pay more than £5,000 after its stretch limousine caught fire with a party of friends inside. According to the South Wales Argus, Go-Stretch, based at Undy, was ordered to pay a total of £5,190 in fines, costs and vic- tim surcharge by North Avon magis- trates in a case brought by the Vehi- cle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA).
The car driver, Robert Blight, 70, was also fined £1,555 and ordered to pay £365 in costs and surcharges. Neither Scott nor Julie Demaret, direc- tors of Go-Stretch, nor Mr Blight appeared at the court in Yate but the magis- trates proceeded and found the case against the company and driver proved. Richard Locke, prose-
cuting for VOSA, said all three had refused to attend interviews. He said the limousine had been hired by Ellie Hayes, of Yate, Bristol, to help cele- brate her 21st birthday in April. She and 12 friends paid £180 to be picked up in Bristol’s Gloucester Road and taken to Clifton. When they were on Circular Road on the Downs, the car caught fire.
Mr Locke said: “No-one was injured. The vehi- cle was evacuated and the fire service was called.”
The magistrates were told the fire fighters had to let the limo burn out after discovering it was powered by liqui- fied petroleum gas. Mr Locke said the Demarets denied that they were involved. The court also heard the car was capable of carrying enough peo- ple to be classed as a
passenger service vehicle (PSV), it was advertised as a vehi- cle that could carry 14 passengers, and was being hired for reward.
Both Go-Stretch and Mr Blight, of Caldicot, were accused of having no operator’s licence, no certificate of initial fit- ness, no test certificate, no recording equip- ment such as a tachograph and no insurance.
Mr Blight was also prosecuted for carrying more passengers than seats available and fail- ing to produce his licence and driver’s card. He was given six penalty points.
In a hearing in Cardiff last year Scott and Julie Demaret were disqualified from hold- ing an operator’s licence for five years by Traffic Commission- er Nick Jones and the company had its licence revoked.
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