Taxi Driver Online

Who knows what's happened here

Did the driver hit a pedestrian, and if so, why no mention of injuries or police involvement, or whatever?

Alternatively, it almost reads as if the driver wasn't involved at all, but didn't stop, and happened to have only one hand on the wheel at the time, which means he loses his badge

And who witnessed all this, and who complained, precisely?


Worthing taxi driver's licence suspended following accident

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/po ... nt-3808238

A Worthing taxi driver has had their licence suspended by the council following an accident.

Worthing Borough Council’s Licensing and Control Committee took the decision in private last month to protect the individual’s identity.

According to draft minutes from the meeting, the cabby’s driving ‘fell below the standard that was expected of a professional driver’.

He ‘did not slow down’ when he saw a woman in the road and was ‘driving with one hand on the steering wheel’, according to the minutes.

“It was apparent that there was an accident and the respondent failed to stop and failed to report the incident,” say the minutes.

Members of the committee decided it was ‘proportionate and necessary’ to suspend the man’s hackney carriage licence immediately, in the interest of public safety.

They were concerned that the driver failed to show he would act any differently in a similar situation.

The cabby must complete a driving assessment course if he wants to work in the area again.

This is the relevant extract from the minutes, which fleshes the above out, but not much



Presumably item 5 referred to below would shed a bit more light if we could read that, but as usual no sign of that on the council's website, or whether that kind of stuff is in the public domain

"Before the Committee was a report by the Interim Director for Communities, a copy of which had been circulated to all members, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 5."

https://democracy.adur-worthing.gov.uk/ ... 1817&Ver=4

Anyway, what's the guessing it happened late at night, at the weekend, and there were alcohol or drugs involved

perhaps the secrecy is because there may yet be a police prosecution ?

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

Yes, a bit like that other recent one that alluded to a possible criminal charge, but was a bit vague about it.

Here there's nothing to suggest any police action or even any police involvement at all, but who knows?

No, the secrecy is because that's how you should deal with personal license decisions.

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IDFIMH

Never really got all this anonymity stuff. What's the rationale, precisely?

I mean, if he appealed to a court then his name would be in the public domain, so why not at the first stage of the process?

And none of this 'secret squirrel' kind of stuff helps with regard to scrutiny and accountability etc.

If a driver receives a warning, should the details of that appear in the press?

Some people lose their license because of medical reasons, should the details of that appear in the press?

Even taxi/PH have human rights, and one of them is the right to a private life. Article 8 I think.

If however someone goes to court then the open court process takes precedence.

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IDFIMH

I can see the point regarding medical matters, but why the secret squirrel stuff in licensing committees but then it's a different approach when if it gets to court? Why should the ECHR right to family life apply in the quasi-judicial setting, and not the courts?

And is all this up to individual councils, or is that the law on a national basis?

Certainly up here in Scotland drivers appearing before licensing committees are generally splattered all over the press (in Glasgow, most obviously), but if it's all down to ECHR then the same approach should hold up here?

(Never really looked into this, but can't offhand recall any Scottish case reported in terms of Driver A, Driver AFW, or whatever - it's always named individuals.)