Cabbies run up the penalty points Almost 180 points were issued to taxi drivers in Bracknell over the last year for incidents including using a mobile at the wheel and smoking inside the vehicle.
A Freedom of Information request to Bracknell Forest Council revealed during 2010/11 179 penalty points were issued to 36 Hackney carriage and private hire drivers.
Of those drivers, four were brought before the council’s licensing panel for receiving more than 12 points within a 12-month period.
Points were also given to three drivers for having defective tyres, five for using a mobile phone while driving, three for smoking in their vehicle and six for construction and regulation failures.
John Yexley, chairman of the Bracknell branch of the GMB union’s Professional Drivers’ Branch, said: “There is a scale of points and the maximum is 12 points in one year before you are taken before the licensing committee.”
As chairman of the branch John said he has previously represented drivers who have gone before the licensing committee.
He said: “I do not condone using a mobile while driving or smoking in the vehicle.
“I use hands-free all the time and speak through my sat nav but I don’t really like holding a conversation while driving.
“The drivers come to me to represent them but I say I can’t condone driving with a handset and speaking.
“I don’t smoke so I couldn’t really comment on that but even when I did smoke some 30 years ago, I would never smoke in the vehicle.”
Of the hearing procedure John said: “The panel can take away the driver’s licence full stop. Sometimes they get a warning and if they appear again there is a possibility they may lose their licence.
“All drivers I have represented, we have managed to prevent them losing their licence, but it all depends on the seriousness of it.”
A council spokeswoman said: “Each case is judged on its merits but a panel has a number of options, including to issue a warning, to suspend or revoke the licence.”
http://www.getbracknell.co.uk/news/s/21 ... lty_points
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