Taxi Driver Online

Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph

July 27, 2006 Thursday

HEADLINE: Cabbie receives three-month ban

A Taxi driver has been suspended from driving his cab for three months for failing to disclose to North Lincolnshire Council he had totted up 12 points on his licence.

The cabbie, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was asked to appear before licensing councillors on Tuesday after his court case was reported in the Scunthorpe Telegraph.

Councillors were told the man had previously escaped disqualification by magistrates under the totting-up procedure after he pleaded extreme hardship if he lost his licence. Now he has to decide if he is to return to court within 21 days of the council meeting to appeal against the suspension order.

Committee chairman Coun Peter Clark yesterday reiterated taxi drivers were legally bound to report any previous convictions. Another male cabbie had his licence revoked, after councillors were told his convictions for deception were reported in the Scunthorpe Telegraph in April this year and he had failed to disclose them.

Coun Clark ruled he was not a fit and proper person to hold a taxi licence.

The driver also has 21 days to appeal to the court.

Two other cabbies, one of them a new applicant, were allowed to ply their trade after they explained to councillors yesterday the reasons for the non-disclosure of their convictions. After the meeting, North Lincolnshire licensing manager Nick Bramhill said the suspension was already in force and the revocation was the first in a year.

He said two more drivers were due to appear before the committee in September following further checks by his staff. On the totting up case, Mr Bramhill said councillors had based their decision on protecting the public rather than the driver's own hardship.

But Devlyn Pugh, the secretary of the North Lincolnshire Private Hire and Taxi Association, said: "Although we welcome the checks on criminal records as a safeguard for the trade and passengers, we are also concerned about the livelihoods of our members and their drivers.

"We as an association intend to seek an input into the vetting and assessment procedures and will be making representations to the council at our next joint meeting."
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