Suddenly, you saw a light flash coming behind you leaving you wondered how many points can a taxi driver have? It does not matter how safe driver you are, it’s all easy to get caught if you are exceeding the speed limit. Even if are using a mobile phone while driving PCO car Hire, police can take serious action. So, only a moment of little carelessness can cost you big fines and penalty points on your license.
Here, we are not just talking about fines, but it also means increased costs when it comes to your taxi insurance. Depending on how many points you have on your license, your taxi license can be taken away that can be a reason to lose your livelihood.
Taxi Drivers and Penalty Points
For an ordinary UK driver, if you have 12 or more penalty points within a three-year period, you can be disqualified from driving. If you have a qualified driving test in the last 2 years, rules would be a bit tougher. And you’ll lose your license with 6 points or more. Plus, if you are working as a taxi driver, you may also lose the license that enables you to work with fewer penalty points on your record.
Can My Taxi Licence Be Cancelled If I Get Points on My Licence?
All professional drivers want to keep their license clean. Instead of other things, points on your license mean that your taxi insurance goes up considerably. Also based on the location where you work as a taxi driver, those points on your license can even take your livelihood away.
However, you need to tell your local license if you get any endorsements on your license. They will decide either to revoke your licence or it may not be renewed when the time comes. In some parts of London, like Wealden, where a driver’s matter is referred to Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee for the Sub-Committee upon accumulating 12 or more penalty points in any 12-month period to decide whether the driver is a fit and proper person.
But in other parts of the UK, rules are tougher. For instance, taxi drivers in Huddersfield face many strict allegations, where the drivers with 9 points or more on their license to pass an enhanced test set by the Driver Standards Agency if they want to drive further. The driver has to pay the test fee and if a driver fails to pass this test the hackney carriage or private hire license will be cancelled depending upon if the driving standards are not met as per requirements.
Are These Rules for The Best?
Many drivers are frightened because of these strict rules and believe that these rules can hit their livelihoods. While passengers and the public overall agree that this strict approach helps to keep customers safer. It has also been seen that many professional drivers lose their professional driving license with lesser penalty points on their record than the standard number. Some are restricted to just 3 points on their licence (such as many emergency service drivers). So, you need to get an allowance of up to 9 points that seems rather OK in comparison.
These rules are beneficial for taxi community in a way to cancel the driver’s license who pass on the law not just once by accident (such as a single three-point speeding fine) but for many times.
This assures the public that the PCO car they are sitting in being driven by someone who takes a little more care on the road that keeps everyone at peace.
What Traffic Offences Can Lead to Penalty Points?
Three-points are the least number of penalties points you’ll get if you are caught speeding. The higher the speed, the finer you have to pay as well as the increased number of penalty points allocated. It is not only the speeding but also other traffic offences i.e. Accident offences, Careless driving, Vehicle condition offences, Dangerous driving, Drink and drugs, Insurance offences, Speeding offences, and Traffic direction and signs.
Other Penalty Point Systems for Taxi Drivers
Different councils have different criteria with different points being allocated and show varying tolerance for the number of points that are accumulated. It is always good to speak to your local council to find out if they have a penalty points system.
Find out more about the rules regarding penalty points on Cubit Insurance and how to keep your taxi insurance as cheap as possible.
