Taxi Driver Online

I think this was at the same meeting as the one the other day about the serial mobile phone offender.

And this is pretty routine stuff - the kind of thing that most local papers simply wouldn't bother with, I'd guess.

But definitely a sniff of these suspensions being used as punishments here (I can't remember the technical phrase) rather than about whether the driver is fit and proper per se.

And I'm sure Sussex will know without having to look it up, but a £200 fine for an insurance offence doesn't seem 'at the higher end of the fines level', as is claimed here


Taxi driver suspended for keeping vehicle without insurance

A taxi driver has been suspended after being convicted for keeping a vehicle without insurance.

Bolton Council’s licensing committee said he had been fined £200 for the offence, which was “at the higher end of the fines level”.

They said this was a breach of the conditions of his private hire licence and there was reasonable cause to suspend him.

He was convicted on January 22, 2025, for having “kept a motor vehicle which does not meet insurance requirements”.

You can be convicted and fined for keeping an uninsured or untaxed car if you do not make a Statutory Off Road Notification, even if it’s stored on private land.

The driver did not attend the licensing meeting, but had sent an email “explaining the reason for his non-attendance”.

He didn’t request that the meeting be adjourned and the committee voted to continue without the driver present.

The meeting was not open to the press or public, but the Council released the minutes detailing the committee’s decisions.

They voted to suspend the driver’s private hire licence for eight weeks and did not take any action on his vehicle licence.

Indeed, the council is making things up.

In fact, the £200 is a third lower than the amount a driver would receive via a fixed penalty ticket.

However, if the vehicle was uninsured while off the road, and the driver/owner hasn't insured sorned it, then the fine would be £100. If that went to court, costs and victim surcharge could up it up to £200 ish.

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IDFIMH

Best keep it out of the domain of the police. no insurance =6 points, a fine and higher insurance premiums for a number of years.

That's the problem with "professional" drivers, including bus and lorry drivers, the risk of double jeopardy for some offences. with one such as this you get stopped on a spot check, no insurance. Fine and points. Taxi/ph driver, fine+points, + council action. bus and lorry driver, fine + point, + invitation for tea without biscuits in front of the Traffic commissioner who has the power to suspend the vocational licence for a period or revoke it if it's a serious matter.