Taxi driver bans for sex crimes, drugs and phone usehttps://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/2 ... phone-use/Taxi drivers have been refused licences with Buckinghamshire Council over sex offences, drug taking and using phones in cars.
Some 53 cabbies had their applications for permits blocked in the year to September 30, 2024, newly published annual figures show.
This is more than double the 20 driver applications to the council that were refused during the previous 12 months.
The council’s principal licensing officer Simon Gallacher said: “We saw a significant increase in the number of driver applications refused.
“Although it is worth just highlighting that represents only four per cent of the total applications we received.”
The most common reasons for refusal included motoring offences such as driving without insurance and using a mobile phone while driving, as well as ‘dishonesty’ such as failing to include offences on applications and providing false information.
Other reasons for refusal included sex offences, possession of class A and B drugs, possession of a knife, convictions for burglary, theft, battery and fraud, as well as dangerous driving, speeding, having defective tyres, licensing offences and DVLA disqualification.
Mr Gallacher told a meeting of the licensing committee on Tuesday: “These refusals highlight the importance of maintaining high standards for taxi and private hire driver licensing to ensure that public safety and trust is maintained.”
The officer said each case involved a ‘significant’ amount of his colleagues’ time for investigations and to make ‘sound decisions’ that would withstand a legal challenge.
Mr Gallacher said the council successfully defended itself in six out of seven driver appeals against the refusal or revocation of licences in the period, with costs awarded to the authority in several cases.
These included an applicant with ‘poor driving standards’ who was found guilty of careless driving after colliding with a motorbike, while another driver was banned after they ‘engaged in inappropriate conversations whilst transporting children’.
During the period, 26 drivers had their licences revoked including for motoring offences, such as using phones at the wheel and driving under the influence of drugs.
Violence offences, including one murder investigation and arrests for assault and criminal damage, were among the other reasons.
Dishonesty, such as failing to notify authorities of arrests, convictions, or changes in personal details, was also a ‘significant factor’, according to the council’s annual report.
Other grounds included safeguarding concerns, medical unfitness to drive, and ‘serious concerns’ over driving standards and judgement.
Meanwhile, 10 vehicle licences were revoked during the period, most of which were due to taxis sustaining ‘significant damage’ in accidents.
The licensing service received 310 online complaints in the year to September 30, 2024, slightly less than the 335 received during the previous 12-month reporting period.
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