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BANNED CABBIE TOOK TO THE ROAD

12:00 - 09 January 2006
A Plymouth cabbie has been jailed for three months, after he carried on working when he was banned from driving.

Andrew Dixon, 43, did not tell anyone he had been disqualified from driving, meaning he was also not insured, and ferried around 2,500 passengers in his taxi during his six-month ban, Plymouth magistrates heard.

Dixon, of Lowerside, Ham, even changed jobs during the six months, from Taxifast to Tower Cabs, without informing his employers he was a banned driver.

But his secret came out when he had to hand over his driving licence when he applied to renew his private hire licence with Plymouth City Council in September last year

It showed that Dixon had been banned for six months on February 16 last year under the 'totting up' of penalty points for speeding offences.

At Plymouth Magistrates' Court last Friday, Richard Speare, defending, said Dixon had told no one about the ban, not even his wife, his family or friends.

At the time he was also threatened with the repossession of his house because of mortgage arrears - another secret he had kept from his wife.

Mr Speare said: "He was in a state of anxiety and became withdrawn.

"He did not intend to act in a criminal way, but did not think about the consequences. He needed money to pay bills. He didn't think about the insurance situation.''

He said Dixon, who was of previous good character, was now bankrupt, had an £87,000 mortgage debt and he and his family were still facing possible eviction. Dixon pleaded guilty to 13 charges in connection with his deception. He admitted obtaining pecuniary advantage by deceiving Taxifast that he had a full driving licence while working for them from February 17 last year. He also admitted a similar charge from April 5 when he started working for Tower Cabs. He pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to obtain a licence by deception from Plymouth City Council on September 15. He also pleaded guilty to five specimen charges of driving while disqualified and without insurance between February 17 and August 15 last year.

District judge Paul Farmer told Dixon: "You put members of the public at risk because you were not insured." As well as sending Dixon to prison for a total of three months, Mr Farmer also banned him from driving for 18 months.



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Things people do for money.

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IDFIMH

So doesn't anyone inform the council when a badge holder is banned?

And why did he reapply for his license when he knew he was banned?
If he had tried to find another job at that point then perhaps no one would ever have known?

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

I also cant understand why he tried to renew his license? He was very fortunate not to get caught when he was driving. I suppose we will never know his reasoning?

Regards

JD

The only thing I can think of is that he had perhaps expected his license to be taken away initially, but once nothing had happened he perhaps thought that he could reapply and still nothing would happen.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Or possibly he didn't tell anyone but got found out via a new CRB check.

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IDFIMH

Yes, I think that's what did happen?

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

he got the six month ban while driving for taxifast in febuary. he left there to go to tower cabs (who didn't even check to see if he had a valid license). he would have got his licence back in August.

i guess when he showed it to the council to renew they picked up on it then. bit of a plank i guess.

Hopefully that's what he will be sleeping on for the next three months.

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IDFIMH