A few weeks ago I was the winner of the wooden spoon award again - a day in the private prosecutions court.
It's not how I would choose to spend the day, but you need to take the rough with the smooth in terms of the court you are allocated to.
The main fare of this court are prosecutions brought by the local authority for things like school non-attendance, littering, fly tipping and trading standards offences.
There was a taxi licensing matter on the list this particular day. The driver, who did self-employed work for Uber, was up for offences of plying for hire and driving without insurance.
Plying for hire without a valid hackney carriage licence is an offence under section 45 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. It has a maximum penalty of a fine at level 2 (£500).
Driving without valid third party insurance is an offence under section 143(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The maximum penalty is a fine at level 5 (unlimited). The driver's licence would normally be endorsed with a minimum of 6 penalty points or a period of disqualification imposed.
The driver in this case, who was convicted in his absence, had been the subject of a local authority "sting" operation.
Undercover council officers had been positioned around the neighbourhood, tasked with approaching private hire vehicles and trying to hire them for the short journey to a prearranged drop off point.
By virtue of section 45 any private hire driver accepting a passenger in that manner is guilty of an offence. Furthermore, their motor insurance will not cover them when carrying passengers accepted in breach of their private hire licence. Driving without insurance is not an offence commonly prosecuted by local authorities, but they are able to do so by virtue of section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972.
This particular driver had been a bit unlucky on the day in question. An undercover council officer had approached him and asked if he was willing to take her the five minute journey to the prearranged drop off point. The driver had refused, stating that he was awaiting a prebooked passenger, entirely in accordance with the conditions of his private hire licence. The driver's passenger turned up and he whisked them away to their destination, which clearly wasn't very far.
Only ten minutes later the same driver returned to where the undercover council officer was. He engaged her in conversation and told her that if she still needed a taxi he was available for hire. The officer accepted his offer, jumped into the taxi and undertook the short journey.
The driver was hauled in by the local authority, interviewed under caution and admitted the offences. He was subsequently sent a postal requisition to appear before the court, but failed to do so. The prosecutor made an application to proceed in his absence, which was duly granted.
As indicated earlier, the driver was convicted of both offences in his absence.
Turning to the matter of sentencing, the offence under section 45 - plying for hire without a valid hackney carriage licence - was dealt with by way of a Band A fine, which cost the driver £220.
The no insurance matter was dealt with by way of a Band C fine, which cost the driver £660. The driver also had his licence endorsed with 6 penalty points.
The driver also had to pay a surcharge of £352 (that's 40% of the £880 total fine) and local authority prosecution and investigation costs of £500.
The five minute journey, for which he received a fare of no more than £5, had ended up costing him a total of £1,732.
The Presiding Justice passed comment to the prosecutor that it had been a very expensive journey for the driver.
The prosecutor replied that things could get even worse for the driver. Because he now had 6 points on his licence the local authority would reconsider if he was a fit and proper person to hold a private hire licence. If the local authority decided that he wasn't, it would revoke his private hire licence.
This case might seem very harsh on the driver concerned, but the local authority has to enforce the highest standards when it comes to drivers entrusted to carry members of the public.
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