I'm all for detail rather than brushing over things. But this one drones on a bit...
Very odd, though, if he's as whiter-than-white as he's made out to be. I mean, you can imagine getting into an argument with people about stuff like this, but he was a tad over the top, and a wee bit relentless as well
Wavertree taxi driver's own dashcam caught him doing something 'very stupid'https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... t-34791212A judge told him that he 'deserved to go to prison' but new laws meant that the cabbie walked free from court insteadhttps://dgqimvklqcpgxv.archive.is/piKIu ... 659b4.avifA taxi driver hunted another man down in his cab before repeatedly ramming his car. Hawkar Karimi chased the other vehicle through residential streets at high speeds before shunting it into a busy Edge Lane.
It came after the dad's fury at missing a green light supposedly led to a punch up between the two men in the street, actions which he later branded "classless and very stupid". While a judge told him yesterday that he "deserved to go to prison", new laws instead meant that he had no option but to allow the cabbie to walk free from court.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Karimi, of Salisbury Road in Wavertree, was "involved in a road rage incident" with a second, unnamed male shortly after 7pm on September 13 last year. The 37-year-old defendant's dashcam footage showed both men exchanging blows in the road before he got back into his Hackney carriage and "chased the other male, driving dangerously around the L15 area".
Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, detailed how this saw Karimi travel at speed along residential streets and run a red light while pursuing the other man along Durning Road and Botanic Road, adding: "On one occasion, the defendant collided with the rear of the vehicle that he was chasing. Just before the conclusion of the matter, he collided for a second time with the rear, pushing it out into Edge Lane before deliberately driving into the rear on a third occasion."
This led to the car being pushed into a wall near to furniture store Patsy's Place, the driver having fled his vehicle seconds beforehand and run away along Edge Lane. Karimi was subsequently arrested at the scene and told police that the other man had been ahead of him at a junction but suspected that he had been using his mobile phone.
With both having apparently missed a green light as a result, the taxi driver said that he was "annoyed" and "beeped his horn", leading to the altercation. He added that he "wanted to sort things out like a man" but "didn't intend to fight", having apparently "wanted to catch the other male" during the subsequent road chase so he "didn't get away with hitting him".
Karimi, who has no previous convictions, meanwhile denied that he had intended to ram the other car on the second occasion, claiming he had lost control of his brakes, but said he "regretted his behaviour". Having "not been in full control of the situation", he went on to "describe his behaviour as classless, uneducated and very stupid".
'Irrational, last minute, panic driven decision'Matthew Cullen, defending Karimi, told the court: "It was this defendant who flagged down the police in order to alert them of everything that had taken place prior. There is clear remorse. There is, to an extent, him existing as a primary carer for dependant relatives.
"He does not, through me or the Probation Service, seek to minimise this particular, shocking episode of driving. However, the fact that it is isolated, using the phrase the probation adopted, situational, and a phrase I advance on his behalf, a one-off episode of behaviour, is relevant to his culpability, but more importantly his long term risk.
"This is an individual who has maintained a long term marriage with parental responsibilities. He can, and has done for 36 years, act as a functioning member of society, also a positively contributing member of society.
"He is not an individual who went out this day intending to commit any sort of criminal offence. The evidence is from his own dashcam footage. It shows that this was an irrational, last minute, panic driven decision which is out of character.
"Your honour knows that he has a positive work history across a variety of employment areas. It includes a long employment as a taxi driver. He tells me that he has a 12-year no claims bonus, having driven over two million miles.
"He treated his role as a taxi driver with great importance. He recalled a number of incidents where he has assisted members of the public. He assisted a male who had been stabbed by a bottle in Liverpool city centre. Notwithstanding the pool of blood seeping from the male, he took him to hospital.
"His contribution to society is and has been significant, and, although it is brought into question by his behaviour in a very short period in September 2025, it does not show this individual's true character. He will almost inevitably lose that, and his ability to continue to be employed will disappear.
"To an extent, that is a consequence he can only blame himself for. It will act as a form of punishment. He is having to find new ways to source income for his family, his partner and his son.
"He came to this country as an unsupported teenager, dedicated to learning English and building a life, which he did. He has his dependant wife and six-year-old son. His partner, who attends court, is not employed due to a physical disability. This defendant was, but still is, the main breadwinner in this house.
"Your honour knows that this is a defendant who can be an active and positively contributing member of society going forward. He is someone who people are dependant on. He is someone who wants to face the music for what he has done. He does not know what he is going to do employment wise, going forward. He cannot, of course, continue driving taxis."
'You deserve to go to prison for this'Karimi admitted one count of dangerous driving, with an earlier charge of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm ultimately being dropped by the prosecution. Appearing suited in the dock, he was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for a year with 100 hours of unpaid work and a 12-month probation requirement.
Judge Stuart Driver KC labelled Karimi's driving as "disgraceful" and added in his sentencing remarks: "The details establish that it was, in law, dangerous, in reality, very dangerous indeed. After a dispute, in a temper, you used your car to chase another vehicle.
"And so, both vehicles drove for a few minutes over the speed limit, across speed bumps on the wrong side of the road, through a red light, through give way lines, into the path of oncoming vehicles, all of this in broad daylight through residential streets, past a number of pedestrians and past many other cars and bicycles. One car narrowly avoided a collision.
"During this, you deliberately rammed your vehicle into the back of the other car three times. The last collision occurred a moment after the other driver got through his car door. He could easily have been caused very serious injury.
"It was a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road and a disregard for the risk of danger for others. Although not prolonged, it was persistent and a deliberate course of dangerous driving. It was obviously a highly dangerous manoeuvre, and it is comparable with racing or competitive driving against another vehicle because you chased it nose to tail.
"In mitigation, there was some provocation here. The other man was aggressive towards you in what is always described as a road rage incident. You are of previous good character. You have a good employment record and a good driving record, and the consequence of your conviction is that you will inevitably lose your job. You assisted the police by flagging them down, and you are a family man with a dependant child."
Referencing measures brought in under the Sentencing Act 2026 in March this year, meaning that sentences of 12 months or less must be suspended in all but exceptional circumstances, Judge Driver said: "I believe you deserve to go to prison for this, but there are no exceptional circumstances. Therefore, legislation means that the sentence must be suspended.
"For 12 months, you must stay out of trouble and do what the Probation Service say. If you fail, you will be brought back here, have no doubt. If I see you again, you will go immediately to prison. You know what you have got to do. If you don't do it, you will be seeing me again and you will be going to prison."
Karimi was also banned from driving for 30 months. He will be required to pass an extended retest before being allowed back behind the wheel.
https://dgqimvklqcpgxv.archive.is/piKIu ... e3a14.avif
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