Taxi Driver Online

Just been informed this morning via telephone that my application for a private hire taxi badge has been objected by the police, and now i have a hearing on July 18th at the city of Edinburgh council regarding the matter.

I first applied for my taxi badge at the end of march, and the administration fee for processing was £77.

I have been involved in the taxis as a controller since 2005, although i am currently enjoying a break from the taxis and have been seeking alternative work driving lorries.

As yet i do not know exactly what the police objection is, although i can imagine.

My convictions are from when i was a teenager (1) possession of small quantity of cannabis. (2) Escaping police custody. (3) Breach of the peace.
During my 20,s all my convictions where motoring related, in 1998 i recieved 3 points for a red-light, then i was banned from driving for a DR20 in 2001, and banned again on 2002 for NI10 and again in 2004 for NI10 then again in 2007 for Dr70+NI10.
In 2007 i was also remanded in custody for 7weeks for breach of bail conditions, and i was finally charged with the crime of 'Breach of the Peace' and due to the fact that i had non paid fines, and 3 non appearances the judge had no alternative to give me a custodial sentence reduced to 100hours community service.

I did my community service and since have never recieved anyother criminal convictions.

My rehabilitation period under the 1974act for my community service is up in July and all my driving convictions are now fully spent and i am officially rehabilitated.

Since i recieved my license backin 2010, i have a clean license, i have accumulated 2 years no cliams bonuses, and have recently been accepted for business insurance.
I have also passed all the medicals the DVLA put infront of me before giving me my license back, and i have passed my LGV lorry drivers test first time.
For my LGV i had to go infront of the driving commissioner and he overturned the DVLA's objection, and i passed all the medicals put infront of me and i eventually went on to pass my test 1st time.

I have contacted the doctor to ask if he can help me out by giving me a medical report stating that in his expert opinion i do not have a drink problem. However the doctor stated that he cannot do this as he has no way of knowing whether i have a drink problem or not.

I have also contacted a motoring lawyer who says i have a good chance of getting the objection turned around.

I am not fully aware as yet what the objection is, i will find out when i recieve my letter.
However after a call to the Edinburgh council they say it could be for not revealing all my convictions upon request, which would ring true.

I did not reveal my crimes for when i was in my teens, as they where minor crimes which got bound over by the magistrates for 6months.

I left out one of my driving bans for 2002 due to the fact that i had no recollection of any details or dates nor what court i even got convicted.
I also left out the fact i did 7weeks jail, as i was only on remand and did not think that this needed to be revealed.

Also i have an appointment with my MP, although a brief conversation on the phone tells me that there is not a lot the MP can do except from send a letter asking that the hearing which will consist of three councilors and a police chief speaking against me, asking for the case to be heard legally and without bias.


Are there any taxi drivers on here can give me some advice on what i can do to improve my chances, and looking at the information i have provided, give me your opinion on what you think my chances of having the objection overturned are?

Mate don't take this the wrong way but it reads like a grocery list what you've been up to previously, you may well now be a good lad but if you went swimming and a shark bit you would you go back in the water later again, I think they've looked at you and thought Leopards & Spots myself, as you have some pretty serious motoring offence's they have to be sure you aren't going to forget to insure yourself in future or put the public in danger with erratic driving, I think you will be looking at £5k to get insured anyway with your past so maybe looking at doing something else is a better option right now,

Personally if I was a LO I wouldn't badge you up with what you've told me you've done in the past, not because I don't think you deserve a chance, you to me would be just too high risk to take a chance on, I suspect the cops may think you are trying to use cabbing as a front for something else tbh,

Anyway it ain't my call, so let us know how it develops.

I know what I would say and it's a "NO".

I'm afraid the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act doesn't apply to Taxi Drivers so basically your going to get a no.

The Council have a right to protect the travelling public.

You left out the 7 weeks in 2007 in jail as you didn't think it needed to be revealed.

What was the offence, when was it, and what was the final sentence?

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IDFIMH

"i was also remanded in custody for 7weeks for breach of bail conditions, and i was finally charged with the crime of 'Breach of the Peace' and due to the fact that i had non paid fines, and 3 non appearances the judge had no alternative to give me a custodial sentence reduced to 100hours community service."

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Grandad,

I have to agree I think a license is unlikely besides which you can earn a lot more lorry driving than driving a PH so why are you so keen on becoming a PH driver ?

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I would think that they are thinking that you have not changed all that much, by virtue of the fact that you have been deceitful with your application.

By the way that is not me saying that (just the way that they will see it), as I believe that people of a young age can and do get into trouble, but are capable later (not too late mind) in life of turning it around.

You have got to be up front with them - and then they can see that you are showing contrition - or trying to.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

I'm shocked that you wish to apeal. I guarentee if you had come on here and said your name was Islam, you would of been met with a slightly less sypathic tone.

I'm all for reabilitation, however I would want to see you dry and risk free for 10 years. The problem with any addict, they are always one slip away. Your slip would endanger the public. So for me its a no sorry.

Go see the licensing department and see if they will refund your fee if you withdraw your application.
I think your p1ss1ng in the wind.

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Well thank you for the replies everyone.

However there is a few truths i need to prove to the cab office.

Nowadays i am nearly 100% tea total, my last drink was Christmas, and i am dead against drugs for recreational use, although i believe there is an argument for Medicinal use.

Despite in my younger days having been into wild parting and dodgie discoes, nowadays my idea of a good time is a game of golf followed by a football match, or a good day out on a sunny day.

I do not gamble like i used to, and my only remaining vice is smoking.

What i have done in my passed is no clue to what i will do in the future, and i simply do not see life through the same eyes i did 6 years ago.

My license is now clean, i have no record of drinking recently, and i have made steps to improve myself.

All i want to do is work hard and live a family life.

I probably drink less than the people on this forum slating me.

Also for all my convictions, not one of them has included dangerous driving nor a crash. Appart from running a red light at 18 years of age, i have never been convicted of an actual motoring offence in the sense of the word.

I got convicted for failing a road side breath test after a random stop, then for no insurance.

This was when i was younger and more stupid and irresponsible, but we all make mistakes and do things we regret.

hi there i recently moved from york to cheltenham i am 52 when i was 17 i was convicted of no insurance i had to go in front of the licensing committee to tell them why i should have a hackney badge that is one offence 35 years ago i dont think you stand a chance of getting a license

I'm not slating you mate, I'm just telling you how it looks, I applaud you for turning it around and hope if this fails for you you don't go weak and return to your older ways again, what you have to realise is your record says stay away from him, it takes a long time for things to drop away, you have to prove trust to other's before they will have confidence in you, the fact the cops are objecting says you probably have been a right nuisance in your younger years, for them not to object is like you walking into a busy bar and leaving your wallet with £2000 in it on a table and taking the chance an honest guy will hand it in, if you aren't confident you would ever see it again you know why the law is objecting.

Anyway, focus on going forwards, don't lapse and show people you are a new person, as you said we all get into some sort of bother when young, some more than other's though, your re-birth doesn't have to be as a cabby anyway, and like I said earlier the insurance cost alone is going to make it very hard for you to be profitable.

I'm not slating you either, just telling you how it looks.
I doubt you drink less than me though, I'm an alcoholic and I've been dry since 1995.

Now, down to brass tacks. The committee will not be impressed by your record, especially since some of it is fairly recent.
Many would consider drink driving to be in itself dangerous, and a dr70 is as good as a drink driving conviction.
You only got your licence back 2 years ago and I believe a dr endorsement counts for 10 years and gets removed after 11 years. I could be wrong there.

Forget the 1974 act. As has been said, it doesn't apply here.

The fact that you didn't declare everything will not go down well. The committee may consider this as evidence you are not trustworthy.
They have to consider public safety first and will be inclined to refuse you. You may feel you are entitled to a chance but the committee don't owe you anything. It is however possible that you might be able to persuade them to give you a chance.

My advice is to withdraw your application before the meeting. That way it won't be considered and a subsequent application won't carry the observation that you were already refused.
Re-apply at a later date and declare everything. They can then make a decision based on the information in front of them at that time. No omissions, no previous refusals and a further passage of time can only improve your chances.

No slating, no judgements - just my opinion.

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I understand your concerns and thank you for your support and advice.

However i have done a great deal of research into the matter and have also been in touch with a taxi insurance company that insures me that they only search as far back as 5 years, and that my insurance for private hire purposes will be no more than anyother driver beginning a taxi career.

As for my DR20 in 2000 (i made a mistake when i said 2001) that expired on 27th October 2011. My rehabilitation period for a DR70 in 2007, which is failing to provide a road side breath test, was only a 5 year rehabiitation period which was up in March.

Also the driving commissioner who granted my application for an LGV was happy that the reason i had my DR20 reduced to DR70 in court was because there was huge mitigating circumstances concerning the case, which there was.

I actually took the roadside breath test and failed, however the test back at the police station proved inconclusive and i was charged with failing to provide, which i felt was harsh, as i know in myself i tried to give a reading.

However after being charged i was told that there was warrants out for my arrest for notorious crimes and that i was being kept in the cells to be taken to court in the morning where i would be taken into custody. However after a brief spell, i was charged with DR20 and released.

I did not find out till my court case that there was another hardcore criminal up in court with the exact same name as me, and it would turn out when i was originally arrested the officer thought that i was him, and this would explain why the copper would not let me breath in properly.

However there was other mitigating circumstances involved whereby i was forced to plead guilty and not go to trial, and i think the judge that sentenced me must have realised this, as he threw the DR20 out of court and replaced it with a DR70 and only £100 fine. Unfortunately i was also driving without insurance and this was not my first driving ban, so he was forced to give me the maximum driving ban at his disposal.

However, i dont really want to go into all this at the hearing and sound like i am making excuses or trying to seek sympathy, i genuinely regret what happened, i was not innocent, and despite being originally pulled over in mistaken identity, i did just so happen to be driving under the influence.

One of the things about growing up and being responsible is being old enough and wise enough to not get into those situations in the first place. Dont let the devil in the door to begin with, so to speak.

I feel i have learned my lessons, and i would like to prove this to the panel

My advice still stands. Withdraw the application and apply again later - even if it's next month.
I wish you luck, you're going to need it.

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