Issue - meetings
REVIEW OF A LICENCE TO DRIVE HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES - DRIVER NO. 043844
Meeting: 05/12/2012 - Licensing Committee (Item 8)
8 REVIEW OF A LICENCE TO DRIVE HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES - DRIVER NO. 043844
To consider a confidential report by the Head of Planning and Public Protection Services (copy enclosed) seeking members’ determination of the suitability of Driver No. 043844 to continue to hold a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Drivers Licence.
Decision:
RESOLVED
that Driver No. 043844 be suspended from driving hackney carriage and private
hire vehicles on public safety grounds and that he be required to undertake a
Driving Awareness Course prior to the matter being brought back before the
committee’s next meeting in order to further assess his suitability to continue
as a licensed driver and reconsider the suspension imposed.
Minutes:
A confidential report by the Head of Planning
and Public Protection Services (previously circulated) was submitted upon –
(i)
the suitability of Driver No.
043844 to hold a licence to drive hackney carriage
and private hire vehicles;
(ii)
the Driver having accrued 12
penalty points on his DVLA licence within a period of
three years but had been permitted to retain his DVLA licence
by Prestatyn Magistrates who had accepted that a
disqualification would cause exceptional hardship in his case;
(iii)
details of the endorsements on
the Driver’s DVLA Licence having been provided, three
of which related to the use of a mobile phone whilst driving a vehicle;
(iv)
the Council’s current policy
with regard to the relevance of convictions, and
(v)
the Applicant having been invited to attend the meeting in support of
his licence review and to answer members’ questions
thereon.
The Licensing Officer (JT) provided a summary
of the report and confirmed that the Driver had been cooperative throughout the
process. Members noted that the Driver
was not present at the meeting despite being invited to attend.
Members considered the facts of the case and
after deliberation it was –
RESOLVED
that Driver No. 043844 be suspended from driving hackney carriage and private
hire vehicles on public safety grounds and that he be required to undertake a
Driving Awareness Course prior to the matter being brought back before the
committee’s next meeting in order to further assess his suitability to continue
as a licensed driver and reconsider the suspension imposed.
The reasons for the Licensing Committee’s
decision were as follows –
Having considered the facts of the case
members had serious concerns regarding the repeated offence of using a mobile
phone whilst driving which demonstrated the Driver’s disregard for the law and
public safety. Grave concerns were also
expressed regarding the serious implications of the Driver’s actions with
potentially fatal consequences. However
the committee considered that the Driver would benefit from attending a Driving
Awareness Course in order to modify his behaviour. Consequently the committee requested that the
Driver attend their next meeting in order to further assess his suitability to
continue as a licensed driver following his completion of the Driving Awareness
Course.
[Councillor Joan
Butterfield asked that it be recorded that she voted against the above
resolution.]
At this juncture (