Smoking taxi driver £515 worse off

A Leyland taxi driver is more than £500 worse off after being caught smoking in his cab. Stuart Jeffrey Dearden, 29, of Downham Road, Leyland, was found guilty of smoking in a smoke-free place and failing to display a no smoking sign, at Leyland Magistrates' Court on Wednesday November 24.

Mr Dearden was smoking while driving an Avacab minibus along Victoria Road, Walton-le-Dale, on July 12, when he was stopped by a police officer as part of a multi-agency vehicle operation.

On arrival at the check site Mr Dearden was unable to show South Ribble Borough Council's licensing enforcement officer where in his vehicle the legally-required no smoking signs were displayed.

Mr Dearden was issued with a £50 Fixed Penalty Notice for smoking in a smoke-free vehicle and a further £200 Fixed Penalty Notice for failing to display a no smoking sign. He failed to pay either of the on-the-spot fines and was subsequently reported for the offences.

Magistrates ordered Mr Dearden to pay £175 for the charge of smoking in a smoke-free vehicle; £175 for failing to display the smoke-free signs; £150 costs and a £15 victim surcharge - bringing the total bill to £515.

I think you might find that's on top of the FPNs, so the total could be £765.

It's in place of.

I am not a smoker and I am in favour of drivers being fined when they are court. What realy does annoy me is that it is only taxi/PH drivers and the odd bus driver that ever seem to get done for this. Has anyone seen a report from any other driver or other person getting done for this?

Then why would they reduce the standard £200 fine for not dispalying the 'No Smoking' signs down to £175?

That don't make sense.

Why doesn't he stop his car and get out??

Such as?

Who or which class of driver in particualr did you have in mind?

Builders vans where there are often 3 people in the front all smoking.
I regulaly see other workers vans with more than 1 person in the cab with one or both smoking.

“Heart attack hospital admissions have fallen since the smoking ban,” reported The Times. This news is based on a study on the rates of hospital admissions for heart attacks before and after the smoking ban was introduced in England on July 1 2007. Researchers estimated a 2.4% reduction in heart attack emergency admissions to hospital (or 1,200 fewer admissions) in the 12 months following the ban.

Isn't that allowed if the van is registered in your name (not the company), because then it would be your own private vehicle?

There are plenty of drivers here in Southport who happily smoke in their car whilst either parked up driving around.

One thing that annoys me is for each vehicle to display all these no smoking signs as when the car is parked up and has been stripped of all its taxi signs still stands out as a taxi and an easy target for spur of the moment thieves who like to smash one of your windows and have a quick rummage around the inside of your car.