heathcote wrote:
Does offences as such not mean all offences committed whatever they are?
It depends how you read what he says?
The Proper Interpretation of section 37 of the 1847 Act
22. In my judgment the major purpose behind the 1847 Act, and indeed the 1976 Act, is the safety of the public by which I include both the travelling public as passengers and other road users. Thus the scheme of the legislation is directed towards having safe vehicles, fit and proper drivers and appropriate conditions of hire. To ensure this safety a form of enforcement is provided for with a system of penalties for non-compliance. Registers of proprietors and drivers are kept together with offences committed which are available for public inspection. Byelaws and conditions apply locally to the licensed hackney carriages and it was apparent from the evidence before me that different councils will impose different conditions[6] and have different byelaws no doubt prompted by legitimate differences of opinion but also dependent on the area concerned. It may be, for example, that an authority covering a large conurbation will have different concerns, and require different conditions, to one covering a more rural area.