Yet another article from Bolton - at least it's something to read on a quiet news day
Pair of private hire drivers suspended over failure to declare driving offences
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/17 ... -offences/
A PAIR of private hire drivers have had their licences suspended by authorities for failing to declare previous offences.
One man had been involved in a “major traffic offence”, while another had been charged over two incidents, only one of which was declared.
Councillors discussed both cases at a meeting of Bolton Council’s licensing sub-committee on traffic matters, held in January.
The first driver was slapped with a four-week suspension by the committee after he failed to disclose the details of a conviction in February 2018.
The charges were in relation to not providing information on his own identity when asked by authorities. As a result, he was given a large fine and penalty points.
However, this information was not revealed to the council's licensing department at the time, and only came out after the man applied to renew his licence seven months later.
Councillors judged him to not be a "fit and proper person" and suspended the licence as both a warning and a deterrent against future issued.
The second driver had been involved in two more minor incidents, but failed to report either of them.
Firstly, in December 2016 he was found to have failed to stop at traffic lights, which was reported at the time but was taken into account as a previous conviction in this case.
However, in January 2018, he was found to have broken the speed limit, resulting in a fine and penalty points which were not declared until 11 days after they should have been.
While the incidents were judged to be "minor" and "intermediate" offences, the committee was concerned that the man was "starting to develop bad driving and speeding habits", and suspended his licence for two weeks.
The hearings were held behind closed doors, which is why the drivers are not named, but details are later published on the council’s website after a decision is made.
A third driver was also summoned to the meeting over the late declaration of a speeding offence from April 2018. However, due to exceptional personal circumstances, the man was only given a warning.
The first two cases at the committee were chaired by Harper Green Cllr Sue Haworth, but the councillor had to leave the meeting partway through, meaning the final driver's case was chaired by Tonge with the Haulgh Cllr Martin Donaghy.
Cllr Stuart Haslam, Cllr Kevin McKeon and Cllr Paul Wild were also in attendance.
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