Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver prosecuted for operating in Cambs without a licence

A man has been prosecuted for working as a taxi driver, despite losing his private hire licence for assaulting a cyclist.

South Cambridgeshire District Council took action against Raminul Islam, 34, from Church Road, Manor Park, London, who admitted driving a private hire vehicle without holding the required licence and having invalid insurance.

Mr Islam appeared before Cambridge magistrates on Tuesday, October 20, and initially denied the charges. However, after the court outlined to him that his prospects of success were non-existent and advised him to seek legal advice, he pleaded guilty.

The offence came to light when the council’s licensing team was contacted by a private hire operator to tell them about a complaint about Mr Islam received from a customer in November 2019.

The council then found that Islam’s private hire driver licence was revoked in June 2019 after he received a police caution for assaulting a cyclist.

His appeal was refused, he continued to drive a private hire vehicle but didn’t notify his operator that he no longer had a licence.

When Islam was called to the council’s offices in January this year for an interview under caution, he claimed he was not aware that he could not continue to drive.

He was fined £100, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £32 and £200 costs. In addition, his regular driving licence was endorsed with six penalty points.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s lead cabinet member for environmental services and licensing, Cllr Brian Milnes, said: “This case clearly demonstrates that we will not hesitate to act swiftly and robustly to deal with any taxi drivers who break the rules. It was very clear for a long time that, in this case, the person driving should not have been doing so.

“Having a taxi driver’s licence is a privilege and residents quite rightly expect that those granted them uphold the highest standards. Passengers must be assured that whoever is driving them is a fit and proper person to do so.”

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IDFIMH

Yeah right.

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IDFIMH

One more chancer out of the trade:Tick

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

So if a council revokes a PHD's badge, are they under any obligation to inform the relevant operator?

And what's the operator's responsibility here, given that they were handing out work to a driver whose badge had been revoked several months previously. How often are they obliged to check a driver still has a valid badge, for example?

It is the operators sole responsibility to ensure that anyone they give work to is fully compliant(badge/vehicle) and enforcement should prosecute any operator who is failing to do so.
Not one driver could be prosecuted for failing to be licensed when working through an operator if all operators complied fully with the law or is this another example of being only interested in the radio rent money.

So you're saying a council could revoke a driver's badge on Monday, on Tuesday an LO spots the driver working, and you think the operator should be prosecuted as a consequence?

Bit harsh, surely?

In my view most certainly.

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IDFIMH