FINES AND POINTS: Taxi Cop secures convictions in two plying-for-hire cases involving private hire drivers
- Perry Richardson
- 2 hours ago
- 1 min read
A private hire driver has been handed six DVLA points and fined £1,600 after being found guilty of illegally plying for hire and driving without insurance.
The conviction came at North Somerset Magistrates’ Court, where Avon and Somerset Police’s Taxi Cop, PC Patrick Quinton, gave evidence on Friday 1 July.
The driver had been stopped during a journey and was found to be carrying passengers without proper hire arrangements. The vehicle displayed no private hire plates and the driver was not wearing the required ID badge. Magistrates concluded the driver was illegally plying for hire and issued penalties accordingly.
Later that day, another case involved a repeat offender who had previously been caught plying for hire and already had six points on his licence. Just before the court hearing, the driver changed his plea to guilty and argued exceptional hardship in an attempt to avoid disqualification.
Magistrates accepted the plea and chose not to impose a driving ban. However, they added a further eight points to the driver’s licence, taking the total to 14. While a ban was avoided in court, the driver had already had his private hire licence revoked by the local licensing committee two weeks prior, meaning he is no longer permitted to operate as a private hire driver.
PC Quinton continues to work across the region tackling illegal activity in the taxi and private hire sector.
