Revealed: How 261 of the city's taxi drivers have broken the law
MORE than 250 taxi drivers registered to work with Derby City Council have convictions.
But passengers have been assured that checking processes mean they will be safe in registered vehicles.
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checks: There are guidelines covering the treatment of applications from people wanting to be taxi drivers in Derby.
Figures obtained by the Derby Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act show there are 407 hackney-carriage drivers and 869 private-hire drivers in Derby.
Of those, 91 hackney-carriage drivers and 170 private-hire drivers have been convicted of an offence.
Derby City Council said it could not give a breakdown of the types of crimes.
But Mario Colello, who has been a taxi driver for 27 years, urged people not to worry about getting into taxis.
He said: "The systems the council has in place are robust enough to weed out applicants who might be a danger to members of the public or who are not classed as a fit and proper person.
"I know someone who was refused a licence for committing a minor offence of being drunk and disorderly.
"If anyone has concerns about a driver, they should take the number of the cab or the driver's badge number and ring the council."
Hackney carriage driver Fazal Ashram said: "I am sure if anyone had committed an offence of serious crime, they would be refused a licence."
A council spokeswoman said the authority's licensing committee followed guidelines when deciding on whether to grant a licence to someone.
According to the guidelines, an applicant with a conviction for drug offences should be free of convictions for at least three years before an application is granted, or five years after detoxification treatment if they were an addict.
The guidelines say applicants with convictions for indecent exposure, indecent assault or any of the more serious sexual offences, should be normally refused.
If an applicant can show a period of at least five years free of such offences, then the committee should consider the application on its merits.
The guidelines say a "firm line" should be taken with applicants who have convictions for grievous bodily harm, wounding or assault. They advise at least three years free of such convictions.
Traffic offences in the past three years, if the total number of penalty points exceeds six, and traffic offences in the past 10 years which resulted in disqualification are referred to the committee.
The guidelines say: "The over-riding consideration shall always be the safety and protection of passengers."
No-one from the Derby Area Taxi Operators' Association was available for comment.
4 Comments
by Angela, Derby
Thursday, March 18 2010, 12:48PM
“I was hit by a yellow cab when he pulled out of a side street, hitting my car with such force I ended up on the opposite side of the road, if there had been a passenger they would have ended up with serious injuries if not dead. He refused to accept liability until he went to court and was faced with witnesses, the police had to pull him off the rank to question him as he was "always out", he gave me the wrong insurance details, I had to get them from the licensing department as he wouldn't return calls to give me his current insurance.
He was fined and had points added to his licence for driving without due care and attention. He was back on the road within two days of the crash and is still driving a cab. Brilliant!!!”
by Iqbal, Derby
Thursday, March 18 2010, 11:24AM
“The council's robust system will not allow any criminal that may pose a threat to passengers in any way. All declared convictions lead to a recommendation of refusal to license the applicant. The application then is forwarded to a council committee, attended by several councillors, where it is scrutinized thoroughly.”
by Iqbal, Derby
Thursday, March 18 2010, 11:21AM
“Many applicants have tried to get licensed but have failed due to the nature of their convictions and the robust system that the city council has in place.
All declared convictions will result in a refusal and the case will be presented in front of the council committee attended by several councillors where the application is scrutinized thoroughly.”
by Tom Fulep, Sinfin
Thursday, March 18 2010, 10:19AM
“And they have the nerve to complain about a copper parking in a disabled spot?!”