Taxi Driver Online

I'm sure 99.9% of Operators understand the law when it comes to supplying information to authorised persons about individuals who operate under radio call signs, but here is one individual who tried to plead ignorance of the law.
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Hough v Liverpool City Council
(DC) Divisional Court
6 March 1980

[1981] R.T.R. 67

Summary

Subject: Road traffic

Taxicab; complaint of overcharging; request for information; duty to provide

Abstract: A person statutorily required to give information as to, for example, the identity of the drivers of vehicles, is not excused where at the time of the request he was ignorant of such identity where the information is readily obtainable by him. A company of which the defendant was a director operated a wireless network to which local taxi drivers subscribed, the drivers being identified by code names.

The council's enforcement officers investigating allegations of overcharging by taxi drivers required the defendant to identify the drivers using particular code names. The defendant failed to do so and when summoned for failing without reasonable excuse to supply the information, contrary to the Liverpool Corporation Act 1972 s. 36 he contended that he was excused from supplying the information since he was not in possession of it at the time of the request, although he conceded that he could have obtained it thereafter without difficulty.

Summary: Held, dismissing his appeal against conviction, that his ignorance at the time of the request would be relevant upon the question as to whether there was reasonable cause for his failure to supply the information, but since the information was readily obtainable by him no such "reasonable cause" existed.

Legislation Cited

Liverpool Corporation Act 1972 s. 36

Considered by
R. v Pitt (Ian Barry), [1983] Q.B. 25; [1982] 3 W.L.R. 359; [1982] 3 All E.R. 63; (1982) 75 Cr. App. R. 254; [1982] Crim. L.R. 513; (1982) 12 Fam. Law 152; (1982) 79 L.S.G. 953; (1982) 126 S.J. 447 (CA (Crim Div))