Agenda item

Mr Tohur Uddin

The Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report which had been circulated with the agenda. This was a review of Mr Tohur Uddin’s Private Hire driver’s licence. Mr Uddin was subject to a vehicle inspection on 7 July by Gloucestershire Constabulary his vehicle was found to have two tyres worn below the legal limit. Mr Uddin’s vehicle was immediately suspended but Mr Uddin replaced his tyres on 8 July and following the inspection of the vehicle by Licensing Officers, the suspension notice was lifted. She explained that the vehicle was licensed to Mr Graham Foley who owned a number of licensed private hire and hackney carriage vehicles. Mr Uddin was contractually obliged to ensure that the tyres and brakes were maintained in a roadworthy condition at all times. Members were asked to determine whether they judged Mr Uddin to be a fit and proper person.

Mr Uddin was invited to address the committee. He explained that he had leased the car from Mr Foley two months before the incident happened. He fully accepted responsibility for the tyres and admitted that he should have inspected them more thoroughly. When asked whether the tyres were extremely worn when he had taken over the car from Mr Foley, Mr Uddin admitted that he hadn’t checked them. He subsequently also realised that tyres do not wear like that within two months. In response to a question Mr Uddin replied that he had been driving this car for 2 months and his mileage was 500-700 miles per week. Members noted that a minimum tread depth of 3mm was specified in the rental agreement and the tyres were the responsibility of the driver. Mr Uddin confirmed that he had a good relationship with Mr Foley.

When asked whether at the time of the vehicle inspection Mr Uddin had passengers on board, Mr Uddin confirmed that the police had advised him to take the passengers home and then to stop work. He confirmed that the tyres had been very bald but he was not aware by how much under the limit they were. He also informed members that he may get 6 points on his licence for the offence.

Some members were of the view that it was Mr Foley who should bear responsibility for the condition of the tyres as they appeared to be defective at the point when Mr Uddin took on the lease of the car. It was suggested that Mr Foley be written to as it would appear that the tyres had not been checked for their roadworthiness.

The Principal Solicitor noted the comments regarding Mr Foley but explained that the driver was responsible for the condition of the car.

When members discussed the possibility of requiring Mr Uddin to undertake a road safety awareness test, the Principal Solicitor explained that this test generally related to the rules of the road, i.e. speeding and perhaps was not relevant in this case, although members could add the assessment as a requirement.

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

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

2.Mr Uddin’s Private Hire driver’s licence be revoked as the Committee considers Mr Uddin 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: 4, Against 2, Abstentions 1

Option 2: Voting for: 2, Against 4, Abstentions 1

RESOLVED that

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