Issue - meetings

Members were asked to consider and determine an application for a private hire driver licence from Applicant – 158581 who had relevant DVLA convictions and therefore did not meet current Transport Policy.

Applicant – 158581 attended the meeting and was given the opportunity to make representation.

Committee papers and reports had been provided to all relevant parties prior to the meeting. 

The report detailed the following:

- A copy of Applicant – 158581’s application containing a DVLA check code,

showing no live DVLA endorsements.

- A copy of a summary interview transcript with Applicant – 158581 and Licensing Officers.

Members understood that the matter before them was to determine an application for a private hire driver licence, from an applicant who had been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving, as detailed in the Committee report and appendices.

The Committee heard that an application for a private hire driver licence had been received from Applicant – 158581, and that an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) certificate was received showing a conviction for causing death by dangerous driving on 8th September 2013. The Committee were told that Applicant – 158581 was convicted of this offence in February 2015, and sentenced in April 2015; receiving a sentence of four years imprisonment, being disqualified from driving until he passed an extended test and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120.

The Committee heard that when Applicant – 158581 was interviewed by licensing officers about his conviction, he explained that on the evening of 8th September 2013 he was driving from Whitby with his wife, and had a head on collision with another vehicle, and that the driver of the other vehicle had lost his life.

The Committee were informed that Applicant – 158581 had explained to officers that he was hospitalised for around three weeks following the collision, and then spent approximately two years in rehabilitation, learning to walk again following his injuries. The Committee heard that Applicant – 158581 said that he was not informed of the other driver’s death until two or three weeks after the collision, and that this still had an impact upon him. 

The Committee were given Applicant – 158581’s explanation of the circumstances of the collision; he was travelling at around 70 miles per hour and the other driver was travelling at 72 miles per hour, which Applicant – 158581 said was taken from the police report. The Committee heard that Applicant – 158581 claimed that he drifted into the opposite carriageway, and that Applicant – 158581 now accepted that the collision was his fault. The Committee were told that Applicant – 158581 said that he pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving, however he was found guilty by a jury following a trial.

The Committee heard that Applicant – 158581 advised officers that he undertook an extended driving test and theory assessment in April 2019, and that his DVLA licence has been been valid since 18th April 2019.

The Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41