Taxi Driver Online

Cabbie can't work for a month after 'racist' exchange

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

A taxi driver has had his Hackney Carriage licence suspended for a month for allegedly making a racist remark to another cabbie.

Carmarthenshire Council's licensing committee heard cabbie Ken Nock wrote an email to the authority in which he accused taxi driver Noel Andrew Sidney Davies of shouting race-related and other abusive remarks at him at the taxi rank outside Carmarthen station on March 5.

He wrote: "I consider this incident as harassment and distressing and so intimidating that as I was on my own on the taxi rank I felt I could do no more than go home."

The council advised him the police were best placed to deal with the matter and, in April, Mr Davies, of Maesyrhaf, Cross Hands, received a caution for a racially aggravated public order offence, the committee heard.

Giving his account to councillors, Mr Davies said: "I was parked opposite him on the bus stop. The guy was pointing at his eyes with two fingers and then at me saying 'look, I'm watching you'.

"I said to him 'please don't point your fingers at me'.

"He got out of his car in an aggressive manner. I couldn't make out what he was saying. I said 'go away'.

"He called me 'a Welsh [edited by admin]'. I said 'go away you English lowlife'."

Mr Davies added: "It was just petty name calling. I do regret saying it."

The taxi driver said he followed his lawyers' advice in accepting a caution, but he "didn't accept a caution as a racist".

Mr Nock was not at the hearing to give his side of the story.

Referring to the email, Councillor Ken Rees said Mr Nock had accused Mr Davies of approaching him.

Mr Davies claimed it was the other way around.

Principal licensing officer Emyr Jones recommended Mr Davies have his taxi driver's licence removed.

He said Mr Davies had received a number of previous warnings, including final warnings in 1997 and 1999.

After letting his licence lapse between 2001 and 2005, Mr Davies received a warning in 2009 and a final warning in 2010, he said.

All were for motoring offences, except the one in 1999, which followed a conditional discharge for a common assault, the committee heard.

Mr Davies currently has nine penalty points on his driving licence from one offence in 2008 and two in 2009, which the council has already considered, councillors were told.

Pleading to keep his licence, Mr Davies said: "I would rather be working than unemployed."

The committee was also given several letters in which people claiming to be from English or other ethnic backgrounds expressed surprise at the suggestion Mr Davies was racist.

Reading out the committee's verdict, council senior solicitor Robert Edgecombe said the majority of the committee had decided that his licence should be suspended for a month from June 17.

He said: "Having regard to all the evidence, the committee considers this a very serious matter."

Source; http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/ ... ticle.html

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
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They've never been on a taxi rank then!!

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

The "lowlife" part seems to have been acceptable...must have been the use of the word "English" that was the real insult..

We lived in Gwynedd for three years and our 4 kids all had insults hurled at them, the younger ones came home crying on a regular basis, the schools did SFA, racism is alive and well in taffystan, believe me

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Is this man suddenly cured of his racist views in a month?

All this must have cost 1000s in officers time, and committee time.

However this is a good reminder of the stupidity of ever accepting a caution.

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IDFIMH