Minutes:
At the invitation of the Chairman, the Licensing Enforcement Officer presented his report.
The report was for Members of the Licensing and Appeals Board to review the Licence Holders continued suitability to hold a combined driver’s licence following the receipt of a complaint. A complaint had been received from a member of the public regarding dangerous driving in that the Licence Holder was watching TV on a mobile phone whilst driving.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer provided the Panel with details of the incident and referred to the appendices which had been included within his report.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer provided the Panel with the Licence Holders employment history within the taxi trade.
The Panel was informed that on 16 April 2014 it was necessary for the Licensing Department to write to the Licensed Driver regarding a breach of condition 3.36 in that he failed to take his licensed vehicle to the same approved testing station for a retest.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer referred to regulation 109 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and Section 61 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer explained that the reason for the licensing of Private Hire drivers was that the driver was in a position of trust and responsibility for his passengers. Consequently it was generally accepted that such professional drivers should have a standard of driving that exceeded that of a private motorist.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer outlined the options available to the Panel as set out in the report. The Panel was reminded that grounds for their decision must be given as there was provision for appeal to the Magistrates’ Court against that decision.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer called the complainant as a witness. Upon request the complainant provided an overview of dealings with the matter. He explained that he had got in the taxi which was parked outside the taxi office and noticed a phone attached to the driver’s side window screen which was turned on and the sound was being played via Bluetooth through the car’s speakers. The witness explained that the Licenced Driver did not switch off the television programme which was showing on the mobile phone. The witness explained that he did not ask for the device to be turned off and did not feel he should have to. The witness was concerned for himself and his wife who were passengers in the taxi and any other road users.
In response to a question from the Licensing Enforcement Officer, the witness explained that he did not experience any bad driving during the journey and he was sat directly behind the driver so he couldn’t see if the driver was watching the television. The witness confirmed that the television was on for the whole journey.
The Licenced Driver had no questions for the witness.
The witness responded to a question from the Legal Advisor and confirmed that he could see the programme which was being shown on the television.
The witness left the Hearing.
The Licensing Enforcement Officer responded to questions from the Panel and confirmed the registration plate and the taxi licence plate of the Licensed Driver.