Private Hire Driver has licence revoked for steering vehicle with his knees and veering across lanes

A private hire driver in Bolton has lost his licence after he used his knees to steer his vehicle while carrying two primary school pupils. Bolton's licensing committee heard that he was not watching the road for most of the journey because he was too busy trying to sort out his e-cigarette. The council was told by a primary school staff member who was with the two pupils that his driving was so poor that it left them frightened. She said the vehicle was constantly veering onto the other side of the road and he had to slam the brakes on at roundabouts.

The allegations were denied by the driver who claimed to not even remember the customers, but councillors were told about an accident he had in his vehicle two months after the complaint was made which was deemed to be his fault. He joins several other private hire drivers who have had their licences revoked at hearings held by councillors in the past few months following complaints, convictions and other concerns.

The Bolton News also highlighted another driver who had his licence taken away for not having any valid road tax and continued to complete more than 500 jobs allocated to him by his operator despite having his vehicle suspended months previously. He was issued a vehicle suspension notice after failing to attend a mid-year test in October 2017, but by the following February he completed 413 jobs that had been allocated to him. His private hire vehicle licence was revoked because he had breached the conditions of his licences.