captain cab wrote:
Shehzad Akbar had been working for 14 hours when he fell asleep at the wheel of his red Honda Accord.
Methinks that stat will be noted and repeated some time in the future.
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| Jail warning to taxi driver who caused death http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12910 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Jail warning to taxi driver who caused death |
Jail warning to taxi driver who caused death A taxi driver has been warned he faces jail after admitting causing the death of one of his passengers through dangerous driving. Shehzad Akbar had been working for 14 hours when he fell asleep at the wheel of his red Honda Accord. The 33-year-old post graduate student’s T-reg taxi was the only vehicle involved in the crash which left his fare Kenneth Riddett, 44, dead. Mr Riddett was travelling from his home in Shepley Drive, Southcote, Reading, to Milford House, in Swindon town centre, where he was working as a train controller for First Great Western. But the taxi crashed at the junction of Queens Drive and Whitbourne Avenue shortly before 7am on Sunday, October 19, last year. He was initially thought to be not seriously injured but was found to have suffered massive internal injuries and died four days later at the Great Western Hospital. Akbar, of Granby Gardens, Reading, had initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving. But before a jury could be sworn in on the first morning of his trial at Swindon Crown Court he changed his plea to guilty. Rosie Collins, prosecuting, said he had pleaded guilty on a certain basis which generally reflected the Crown’s case. “He was a taxi driver. He had been working for a 14-hour shift before picking up Mr Riddett,” she said. “He didn’t work continuously; there were a number of call-outs in that time with gaps between. Effectively he was tired: He fell asleep at the wheel. “He is 33-years-old, married with one child. He is in this country on a student visa and working part time as a taxi driver.” Judge Douglas Field adjourned the case to allow the probation service time to compile a pre-sentence report. He said: “It is serious matter. Custody is inevitable. In these matters a pre-sentence report I think is necessary for the judge.” As the offence carries a mandatory ban he imposed an interim driving disqualification and the ultimate length of it will be decided when he is sentenced. |
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| Author: | toots [ Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:57 pm ] |
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Quote: He is in this country on a student visa and working part time as a taxi driver
I wonder if, as well as driving time, there was also study time to add to the 14 hours he had been working. It would appear that his job could possibly have priority over his studies |
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| Author: | Sussex [ Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:54 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Jail warning to taxi driver who caused death |
captain cab wrote: Shehzad Akbar had been working for 14 hours when he fell asleep at the wheel of his red Honda Accord.
Methinks that stat will be noted and repeated some time in the future.
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| Author: | Sussex [ Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Jail warning to taxi driver who caused death |
captain cab wrote: He said: “It is serious matter. Custody is inevitable. In these matters a pre-sentence report I think is necessary for the judge.”
Two to three years.
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| Author: | Nigel [ Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:39 pm ] |
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Kin ell BRAKE will be loving this one. Not all drivers are like him, if I feel my eyes going that's it I'm off home, sleep and safety is more important than a £25 job. |
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| Author: | bloodnock [ Wed Nov 25, 2009 8:58 pm ] |
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Nigel wrote: Kin ell BRAKE will be loving this one. Not all drivers are like him, if I feel my eyes going that's it I'm off home, sleep and safety is more important than a £25 job.
Yes...1 ersehole from 250,000 Taxi and Ph drivers and we're all going to be treated like the devil incarnate. its the likes of him that fechs things up for the rest of us... 
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| Author: | Sussex [ Wed Jan 20, 2010 7:33 pm ] |
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Shock horror!!!! http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news ... s_missing/ |
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| Author: | Nigel [ Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:07 am ] |
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Sussex wrote:
We weren't expecting that to happen were we?? |
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| Author: | toots [ Thu Jan 21, 2010 10:26 am ] |
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Quote: It is possible that Akbar has left the country so all appropriate authorities including the port authorities and partner agencies have been informed.
Isn't that kinda like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted
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| Author: | captain cab [ Fri Jan 29, 2010 4:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Death crash widow’s plea: ‘hand yourself in’ |
Death crash widow’s plea: ‘hand yourself in’ The widow of a man killed in a road crash has made an emotional plea for the private hire driver responsible for his death to hand himself in. Jadwiga Riddett is desperate for closure after her husband Kenneth died when he was a passenger in a car driven by Shehzad Akbar who crashed after falling asleep at the wheel after a 14-hour shift. First Great Western worker Mr Riddett, from Shepley Drive, Southcote, died in hospital after the incident in Swindon in October 2008. Akbar, 33, from East Reading, who previously admitted causing the 37-year-old’s death, failed to turn up to be sentenced at Swindon Crown Court at the end of December 2009 and is believed to have fled the country. Taxi driver admits causing death of passenger Mrs Riddett said she was “completely gutted” with the situation. The 57-year-old, who has not returned to work in Evans since her husband died, said: “There is no closure. Seeing Akbar punished won’t bring my husband back. But I wanted to ask him how he felt. “Akbar denied the offence until right up until the court case. He changed his plea to guilty on the first day of his trial in November last year. “I think he must have been told he stood no chance of being cleared because there was nobody else on the road and no other reason the crash could have happened. “My husband told Akbar to wake up before he died – the police told me that. “My husband had his seatbelt on. He did not do anything wrong.” Dad-of-one Akbar, who worked for 5 Star Cars in West Reading and lived in Granby Gardens, did attend pre-sentence appointments with his solicitors and the probation service. But on the day he was due to be sentenced for one count of causing death by dangerous driving he did not show up. Mrs Riddett said: “The police told me Akbar shipped his wife and child back to Pakistan a few weeks before he disappeared. “He had no reason or excuse for not being at court for sentencing. Now a warrant has been issued for his arrest. “I think he deserves to be punished but the main issue is closure. “I had asked the police if I could talk to him. I wanted to ask if he knew what it felt like, if he could bear to be away from his wife and child. “I never got to talk to my husband. I never got to say goodbye. When I think about what’s happened, the crash and now, my stomach turns. This has affected my life hugely.” Sergeant Warren Knight of Wiltshire Police said: “Enquiries to locate Akbar are continuing and we have been liaising with neighbouring forces during our enquiries. It is possible that Akbar has left the country so all appropriate authorities including the port authorities and partner agencies have been informed.” Contact Wiltshire Police on 0845 408 7000 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 with more information. source: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2064 ... ourself_in |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Wed Feb 24, 2010 3:35 pm ] |
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Jail term for killer driver still on-the-run A private hire driver who killed his passenger in a collision when he fell asleep at the wheel has been jailed for nearly three years – but is still on the run. Shehzad Akbar careered across three carriageways and smashed into traffic lights and a tree as passenger Kenneth Riddett made a desperate bid to wake him. Death crash widow’s plea: ‘hand yourself in’ First Great Western train controller Mr Riddett, from Southcote, died four days later from massive internal injuries but was able to tell ambulance staff what happened on his way to hospital. The Reading Post reported last month how Akbar had disappeared sometime between November 2009 – when he appeared at Swindon Crown Court and admitted causing Mr Riddett’s death by dangerous driving – and December 2009 when he failed to turn up at the same court for sentencing. Last Friday, the recorder Ian Lawrie, sitting at Swindon Crown Court, sentenced Akbar, of Granby Gardens, East Reading, in his absence to two years and nine months in jail. He also banned the 33-year-old postgraduate student from driving for five years and said he must pass an extended driving test before he could get a licence. Wiltshire Police fear Akbar, who worked for West Reading’s Five Star Cars – often used by the train company – had fled to his native Pakistan. The court heard 44-year-old Mr Riddett, of Shepley Drive, told ambulance staff and police how he had tried to wake Akbar before the smash in Queens Drive in Swindon on October 19, 2008. Rosie Collins, prosecuting, said Akbar was at the end of a 14-hour shift when he picked Mr Riddett up from his home to go to Swindon town centre where he worked. Akbar fell asleep and his Honda Accord clipped the nearside kerb before crossing all three carriageways, crashing through a set of traffic lights and smashing head on into a tree. Although the roof had to be cut off to free Mr Riddett he appeared to have escaped serious injury and told a paramedic what happened on the way to Swindon’s First Great Western Hospital. The court heard Mr Riddett said: “I saw the driver fall asleep. His head nodded forward. We were drifting off the road. I shouted at him to wake but he didn’t. We crashed into a traffic sign and tree.” Later the court heard Mr Riddett told officers: “He fell asleep. We started to veer off the road. I shouted, ‘Oh, oh, oh’. We struck the tree and the driver started shouting.” Andrew Cohen, defending, said Akbar felt remorse. Mr Lawrie, sentencing Akbar in his absence, said: “Mr Riddett was wearing a seatbelt but leaned forward to try to wake the somnolent Mr Akbar. Then there was the ricochet effect of two collisions. “Because of trying to wake Mr Akbar he put himself in a position of enhanced risk causing these injuries.” Any punishment for failing to attend would be dealt with when Akbar is brought before the court for the sentence to begin. Mr Riddett’s widow Jadwiga, 58, told the Post yesterday: “He [Akbar] was a coward in running away but to be honest it [the sentence] won’t bring my husband back so it doesn’t make any difference to me if he was in prison for 10 years or 18 months.” But she added it was “a bit of closure”. - Do you know Akbar’s whereabouts? Call Wiltshire Police on 0845 408 7000. source: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/ |
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| Author: | towag [ Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:33 pm ] |
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Yep..... got a few of those here in Winchester..... have had a couple fall asleep at the wheel, luckily no punters onboard. Work a full shift at Fords then come to work all night.... keep coming up to me and asking the way to so and so!!! Have reported it a couple of times but have now given up, as nothing is done..... |
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| Author: | edders23 [ Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:57 pm ] |
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Same here many of our drivers do it as their second or THIRD job many of them do it to gather together the 100000 or so pounds to retire comfortably back in Pakistan or bangladesh when they reach retirement age often drivers will pull long shifts etc for about 6 months and then go to pakistan for 3 months then back here again for 6 to 9 months grabbing money to export back home just like the poles the latvians the romanians etc etc its a wonder there is any money left in this country |
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| Author: | towag [ Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:36 pm ] |
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edders23 wrote: Same here many of our drivers do it as their second or THIRD job many of them do it to gather together the 100000 or so pounds to retire comfortably back in Pakistan or bangladesh when they reach retirement age
often drivers will pull long shifts etc for about 6 months and then go to pakistan for 3 months then back here again for 6 to 9 months grabbing money to export back home just like the poles the latvians the romanians etc etc its a wonder there is any money left in this country As angry as that makes you and I can well understand that, you have to admire their tenacity and wee wee taking, plus they probably don't pay income tax either!! It's a cancer that we have to accept and maybe it's a leaf we should take out of their book!! Now where did I put the boot polish? 
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| Author: | captain cab [ Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:53 pm ] |
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Taxi passenger killed after frantically trying to wake driver A TAXI passenger was killed after frantically trying to wake the driver, who had fallen asleep, moments before a fatal crash in Swindon. Kenneth Riddett, 44, leaned forward to try and rouse driver Shehzad Akbar, so when the car smashed into a tree on the Oxford Road he was not wearing a seatbelt. Despite being cut free from the mangled wreckage, Mr Riddett was able to tell police what happened before dying in hospital four days later due to massive internal injuries. At Swindon Crown Court, Akbar, 33, was sentenced in his absence as it is believed he had fled to his native Pakistan to avoid the inevitable jail term. Rosie Collins, prosecuting, told a judge how the accident happened on Sunday, October 19 last year. She said Mr Riddett was picked up from his home in Southcote, Reading, to go to Swindon town centre where he worked as a train controller for First Great Western. As the car was heading along Queens Drive close to the junction with Whitbourne Avenue. the passenger noticed the driver dozing off and tried to rouse him. But the Honda Accord clipped the nearside kerb before crossing all three carriageways, crashing through a set of traffic lights and smashing head on into a tree. Although the roof had to be cut off to free, Mr Riddett he appeared to have escaped serious injury and told a paramedic about what happened on the short journey to hospital. He said ‘I saw the driver fall asleep. His head nodded forward. We were drifting off the road. “I shouted at him to wake him but he didn’t. Then we crashed into a traffic sign and tree’. And he told a police officer: “He fell asleep. We started to veer off the road. I shouted ‘oh, oh, oh’. We struck the tree and the driver started shouting.” At hospital he was found to have suffered massive internal injuries and despite their best efforts doctors could not save him. The judge, Recorder Ian Lawrie, told the court that as the seatbelt locked when Mr Riddett was leaning forward he effectively became an ‘unrestrained passenger’. “He was wearing a seatbelt but leaned forward to try and wake the somnolent Mr Akbar. Then there was the ricochet effect of two collisions. “Because of trying to wake Mr Akbar he put himself in a position of enhanced risk causing these injuries.” Miss Collins told the court that Akbar was in the UK on a student visa and was studying for a master’s degree in business studies at the University of Buckingham and working part-time as a taxi driver. She said the accident came at the end of a 14-hour shift during which he had 15 pick ups and on the third consecutive night shift. Akbar, of Granby Gardens, Reading, Berkshire, had initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving but before a jury could be sworn in on the first morning of his trial he changed his plea to guilty. Andrew Cohen, defending, said although he had failed to turn up to face sentence his client, who is married with a young child, was full of remorse for what he had done. He said he was in the UK studying trying to better himself and supplementing money sent from home by working as a taxi driver. Imposing a two year nine month jail term, the judge said “Mr Riddett would not have been put into that dangerous situation had Mr Akbar not fallen asleep.” He also banned him from driving for five years and said he must pass an extended driving test before he could get a licence. Any punishment for failing to attend would be dealt with when he is brought before the court for the sentence to be activated. source: http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/ |
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