Nottingham private hire driver hit with fine and 8 penalty points for illegally plying for hire
A private hire driver in Nottingham has been slapped with a £556.88 bill after successfully being prosecuted for illegally plying for hire and driving without insurance.
The combined cost of fines and court fees will now be payable by the unnamed driver who was also hit with 8 penalty points on their driver's licence.
Details of the case have not yet been released, but we know that it is illegal for any private hire driver to accept a fare which has not been booked in advance through a licensed operator. If a private hire driver does pick up a fare illegally, their insurance automatically becomes void as it does not cover them for such a trip.
Only hackney carriage taxis are legally permitted to pick up a street hail.
It is not clear whether the driver still holds a private hire licence in Nottingham or if the licence has been revoked.
In most cases where a driver has been found to commit such an offence, he or she is likely to face the licensing committee board who will then decide whether or not they can still be considered as a "fit-and-proper" person to hold a licence.
The majority of the time, they are considered not to be suitable to hold a licence and are issued with a ban.
