FIT AND...
SCORES OF WEST MIDLANDS DRIVERS MAKE ILLEGAL PICK-UPS
Scores of taxi drivers around the West Mid- lands region are being caught illegally picking up passen- gers on the roadside when they have not been booked, new fig- ures revealed last month.
And council bosses say they are now preparing for the prob- lem to escalate later this year as the drivers swoop on Christmas party venues.
Since the start of 2009, there have been 65 successful prosecu- tions in Wolver- hampton, with the majority licensed by the city council. Most have been plying for trade across the city centre and near the
railway station.
In addition to a typical fine of £300 for plying for hire, most drivers received either six or eight points added to their licence for not having suitable insur- ance. Council spokes- man Paul Brown said there were typically about 20 convictions a year.
He added a further ten cases are pending, and at least six drivers have been caught more than once. In Dudley, a total of 92 taxi drivers have appeared before the council’s taxi driver committee for convic- tions for plying for hire in the last three years. That includes 29 in 2010/2011, 34 in
2009/2010 and 29 in 2008/2009.
Council chiefs have decided to double the minimum penalty PHV drivers can expect for seeking out business. Under the changes, the starting point for a first conviction has been increased from two months to a four- month suspension of licence. Walsall Council has successfully prosecut- ed 16 drivers since April 2010. And in Sandwell, eight drivers were convicted in 2009, eight in 2010 and seven so far in 2011.
In Wyre Forest, South Staffordshire and Can- nock there have been no recent convictions.
ERRORS IN NEW GUIDELINES ON WORCESTER TAXI LICENCES
A more “robust” policy giving guidelines on whether people want- ing to become taxi drivers should be grant- ed a licence fails to acknowledge rape and does not distinguish between the serious- ness of drug offences. According to the Worcester News, con- cerns have been raised about the ‘errors’ in the Worcestershire-wide policy, which aims to make it easier for driv- ers to understand what they should, and shouldn’t, disclose. It is also meant to result in more consistent decision-making about applications and hear- ings by councillors across the county. However, rape has been omitted from lists of offences while the guidelines say drivers with a history of drug offences will have to wait at least three years before they can aply to get their licence back regard-
PAGE 60
less of the seriousness of the offence.
Despite that, officers say there is no danger councillors on sub- committees will not have all of the informa- tion they need as any charges or convictions will be picked up by enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks before it is decided whether a driv- er is a ‘fit and proper person’ to be a driver. However, there was an admission that the mistakes in the policy, which had already been adopted by three other councils before it went before Worces- ter City Council, look sloppy.
After Cllr Jo Hodges pointed out the ‘errors’ at a meeting of Worces- ter’s licensing com- mittee, Carl Phil- lips, technical officer for licensing, said: "Rape is not included but these are guidelines.
“If you ask whether that would appear on
the enhanced CRB checks then the answer would be ‘yes’. “Should it have been included? Probably.” I When some council- lors suggested rape would come under the sexual offences banner where indecent expo- sure, soliciting and importuning are listed, Coun Hodges said: “I think rape should be regarded under the violence category.” On the point of there being no distinction between the serious- ness of drug offences, Mr Phillips said: “Should it be includ- ed? Perhaps, but we can’t do it at this stage. This policy does make it more robust than what we currently have though.”
Mmm...Yet another example of why we’re rather desperate for new Home Office guidelines, and insis- tence on enhanced CRB for all licensed drivers. - Ed
FAKE ID TAXI DRIVER FROM AYLESBURY FINED £2,500
A taxi driver has been made to pay more than £3,000 for using a forged ID.
According to the Bucks Herald, Amjad Mahmood, from Ayles- bury, was fined for driving with a forged driver’s identity badge and for failing to keep adequate records. He was caught by an Aylesbury Vale District Council licensing offi- cer in November 2010 during a random check on taxis and PHVs. Mahmood, of UK Taxis, claimed to have lost his original badge and was unsure where the new one had come from.
The council also dis- covered the operator was failing to keep records in accordance with his licence condi- tions.
The case was heard on
October 17 at Ayles- bury Magistrates’ Court, where the defendant pleaded guilty and was fined £2,500, ordered to pay £897 to the council and billed £15 towards a fund for crime victims. Cllr Judy Brandis, chairman of the authority’s licensing committee, said: “Peo- ple want to know that they are safe and secure when they use a local taxi or PHV. “Carrying an identity badge is a very impor- tant way for taxi drivers to show pas- sengers that they are properly licensed and are fit to drive a taxi or private hire vehicle. “Mr Mahmood chose to put the public at risk by faking his identity badge, which is simple and easy to renew. This case sends out the
message – do not try this, you will get caught. “It is important that pri- vate hire companies keep appropriate records such as the name of the customer, pick up address and destination.
“Should an incident occur involving a taxi or private hire driver, the police or council licensing officers would require these details to fully investi- gate any allegation made by or against the driver.
“The council requires taxi and private hire drivers to maintain exemplary standards and it is essential that the public has confi- dence in the quality of service provided. We have a responsibility to ensure that public expectations are ful- filled.”
FINE AND POINTS FOR NEWCASTLE CABBIE WHO ILLEGALLY PLIED FOR HIRE
A Newcastle taxi driver has been convicted of illegally plying for hire in an uninsured vehi- cle – because he picked up a fare in the Gateshead area. Mahamad Mahamad Harem, a hackney car- riage driver from Newcastle, attended Gateshead Magis- trates’ Court on 5 October 2011 to face charges of plying for hire outside of his licensed area and of operating without prop- er insurance. He pleaded not guilty to the charges but follow- ing a trial was convicted of both offences. Mr Harem was caught in a routine undercov- er operation staged by Gateshead Council’s licensing team in November 2010. Two licensing officers hailed a Newcastle
hackney carriage vehi- cle as it drove through the Gateshead area to see if it would stop to pick them up, which it did. The officers asked Mr Harem to take them to a local hotel, which he proceeded to do. En route to the hotel the licensing officers asked Mr Harem to stop the vehicle and revealed their identi- ties. Mr Harem was cautioned and informed that he had illegally plied for hire and, as a result, may have invalidated his motor vehicle insur- ance.
Mr Harem was sen- tenced by Gateshead Magistrates to a fine of £250 and received six penalty points for hav- ing no insurance. He will also have to pay a £15 victim surcharge and Gates-
head Council was awarded costs of £414. There was no separate penalty for the plying for hire offence.
Anneliese Hutchinson, Head of Development and Public Protection for Gateshead Coun- cil, says: “There has now been a number of successful prosecu- tions of taxi drivers illegally plying for hire in Gateshead within the last 20 months.” She added: “I hope that licensed drivers from all areas are get- ting the message that illegally plying for hire and therefore driving without appropriate insurance is simply unacceptable and Gateshead Council will continue to inves- tigate these matters and prosecute offend- ers.”
PHTM NOVEMBER 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
