AVDC introduce penalty points scheme for taxi and private hire drivers

From Friday 14th November 2014 Aylesbury Vale District Council will give a penalty points to hackney and private hire drivers if they are found to be flouting the law or the terms of their licence.

The move is to help improve the standards, safety and for the protection of the travelling public. The scheme will record drivers’ behaviour and conduct to monitor if they are a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

Offences included in the scheme include:
• Failure of a hackney carriage/private hire driver to wear driver’s badge
• Failure to display licence plate, door signs or window badge (livery)
• Private hire vehicle entering or stopped in a taxi rank
• Hackney carriage not displaying the tariff from within the vehicle
• Major and minor vehicle defects

If a licensed driver reaches the maximum of 12 penalty points his/her licence will be suspended for a fixed period of time.

Councillor Judy Brandis, Chairman of the Licensing Committee, said: ‘We know the vast majority of hackney and private hire drivers always drive safely and provide a great service in Aylesbury Vale. We want residents and visitors to the district to feel safe when they use a taxi or private hire vehicle so it is crucial that standards of driving and behaviour are consistently high. The penalty points scheme will give our licensing officers a far greater degree of flexibility and transparency when investigating complaints or breaches of licence conditions and in administering appropriate sanctions.’

Prior to the introduction of the scheme AVDC could only suspend or revoke a licence or issue a warning letter.