Bolton private hire driver licence suspended for 12-weeks following collision with pedestrian and false information
A Bolton private hire driver has been suspended for 12 weeks after the council’s licensing committee ruled he was temporarily unfit to hold a licence.
The decision, made during a meeting on 29 October, followed an investigation into a collision involving the driver’s vehicle and a pedestrian, as well as concerns over the driver’s conduct after the incident.
The committee reviewed evidence from several sources, including statements from a passenger in the vehicle, the injured pedestrian, and the police. They determined that the driver was responsible for the collision, which left the pedestrian with a fracture consistent with being hit by a vehicle.
Serious questions were raised over the driver’s behaviour following the incident. According to the report, the driver failed to notify the council of the collision within the required 72-hour period, breaching the conditions of his private hire licence. Furthermore, the driver provided false information during interviews, an act the committee described as an attempt to cover up the incident.
Despite these issues, the committee acknowledged the driver’s otherwise clean record, noting he had been operating as a private hire driver for almost 20 years without incident. While recognising this, the committee expressed significant concern about the driver’s honesty and actions in this case.
In its decision, the committee chose not to permanently revoke the driver’s licence but imposed a 12-week suspension as a sanction for the collision, the dishonesty, and the breach of notification requirements.
The suspension applies to both the driver’s private hire licence and the licence for his vehicle, temporarily barring him from operating as a private hire driver in Bolton.
