Agenda item

Mr Michael Rodgers

Amelia Byres introduced the report as circulated with the agenda.  This is a review of Mr Rodgers Private Hire Driver’s licence which is due for renewal on 14 December 2013.

Mr Rodgers drives a private hire vehicle which was subject to a vehicle inspection on Thursday 18 April 2013 by Police Constable J Tranter.

Police Constable J Tranter contacted the Licensing Officer immediately to advise that the vehicle had been inspected at 23.45 hours on the A40 London Road, Cheltenham.  PC Tranter advised that the vehicle had been stopped due to an inoperable headlamp and bald rear nearside tyre.

PC Tranter advised that the rear nearside tyre was worn below the legal limit, the measurement in the groove of the tyre was 75mm on the inside edge of the tyre, the full circumference of the tyre measured 100mm.

Amelia Byres confirmed that Mr Rodgers brought his vehicle for inspection at 11.00 the next day.  The vehicle had a new tyre and replaced headlamp.

A diagram of the tyre measurements submitted by PC Tranter is detailed in Appendix A of the report.

A reference from Mr Foley is attached at Appendix B of the report and Appendix C shows a copy of the rental agreement between Mr Rodgers and Mr Foley

Members asked the following Officer comments:

• When asked, Amelia Byres confirmed the tyre was a standard make and referred Members to point 3.6 of the report which detailed the policy on tyres.

Mr Rodgers attended the meeting and spoke in support of his licence.  He explained that the day he was stopped was a race day and had got straight into his vehicle that morning.  Mr Rodgers apologised for not checking his vehicle prior to starting work and said this was his fault.

Mr Rodgers said he was pulled over due to his headlamp not working and was taken aback when he was told his tyre was under the correct level.  Mr Rodgers said he had travelled 100 miles that evening.  He was advised by the Police officer to take his passenger home and stop working for the evening.  Mr Rodgers stated that if the tyre had been in a serious condition the vehicle would have been immediately taken off the road.

Mr Rodgers confirmed he had since bought a tyre measuring device for his own use and apologised for the worn tyre on his vehicle.

Members asked the following questions:

• A Member told Mr Rodgers he should have checked his tyres and it takes time for them to wear.
• Mr Rodgers confirmed he had checked his tyres 3 to 4 days earlier and his tyres were above the legal limit then.  Mr Rodgers said he now checks them on a daily basis.
• Members discussed the level of wear on the tyre and where the tyre had been measured.
• Mr Rodgers confirmed the Police officer measured the tyre twice, the inside of the tyre fell below the limit but the outside of the tyre was fine. All of his other tyres were satisfactory.
• When asked, Mr Rodgers said he did not see the device used by the Police officer as he was looking after his passenger in his vehicle.
• A Member detailed the required tread of tyres and stated that the tyre measured 1.3mm instead of 1.6mm and this was a very small difference.  The Member said they were surprised that such a song and dance had been made about it.  The Member advised the Committee that the difference of 0.3mm equalled 3 pieces of A4 paper.
• A Member referred to Mr Foley’s letter at Appendix C and page 23 of the report which stated that it would be impossible for any motorist to see the uneven tread wear of 0.3mm.
• When asked, Mr Rodgers confirmed his headlamp had been working that evening but there had been an ongoing problem with the headlamp blowing out.  He stated that in the previous 6 weeks to being stopped he had had the headlamp replaced on 4 occasions.  This problem had now been fixed.

In summing up, Mr Rodgers said he was very sorry for the incident.  As a result of this he had received 3 penalty points on his DVLA driver’s licence and a fine which had made him think about checking his tyres more regularly.

Members were advised that they had two options as set out in the report:-

1. Mr Rodgers’ Private Hire driver’s licence be continued with no further action because the Committee is satisfied that Mr Rodgers is a fit and proper person to hold such a licence, or
2. Mr Rodgers’ Private Hire driver’s licence be revoked as the Committee considers Mr Rodgers is not a fit and proper person to hold a Private hire driver’s licence because he failed to maintain his vehicle in a roadworthy condition.

Members voted for these two options:

Option 1: Voting For: 10, 0 against, 0 abstentions

Option 2: Voting For: 0, 10 against, 0 abstentions

RESOLVED that Mr Rodgers’ Private Hire driver’s licence be continued with no further action because the Committee is satisfied that Mr Rodgers is a fit and proper person to hold such a licence.