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Drink-driver’s taxi bid refused
A DRINK-driving former cabbie has had his appeal for a new taxi licence thrown out of court. David Hope, from Glasgow Road, Jarrow, lost his licence for a third time after a booze-fuelled police chase in North Shields in December 2006.
The 60-year-old was found to be almost three times over the drink-drive limit when a traffic officer finally caught up with him. He was banned from driving for two years, and applied to the borough council in January last year for another taxi licence.
The application was refused on the grounds he was not a “fit and proper” person. The decision took into account two other drink-driving convictions. Hope was at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court yesterday to appeal.
Angus Taylor, prosecuting on behalf of the council, read from legislation that said the authority must not grant any taxi-driving licences to people who are not deemed fit and proper, a criteria which includes anyone with convictions for drink driving.
He said: “We have a duty of care to the general public. “Pick someone in your family that you are extremely close to and think about whether you would allow that person to travel in a taxi driven by this man, with his history. “If you would not, he is sunk.”
The court heard Hope had been granted a taxi licence twice before – first in 1996, despite a drink-driving conviction from 10 years earlier, and again in 2001, by which time he had a second drink-driving conviction.
Mr Taylor added that when he received his second and third convictions, he did not report the offences to the council. He also said in his most recent application that he failed to disclose the conviction from 1986.
Pc Russell Blenkinsop, the officer who arrested Hope in 2006, told how he spotted him at the North Shields exit of the Tyne Tunnel, where Hope stalled his car and stumbled as he tried to pay the toll.
Believing he was drunk, Pc Blenkinsop tried to pull him over outside the tunnel, but Hope drove off. When he eventually pulled over, Hope was found to have 105mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – the legal limit is 35mg.
Hope said: “Employment is hard to come by, and I’m the wrong end of the age bracket for most jobs. “But if I could drive it would get me off benefits and raise my standard of living. Before 1986, I hadn’t had a speeding ticket or anything.
“Before I thought it would be OK if you had two pints and then drove, now I have zero tolerance for drink. I wouldn’t have as much as a sherry trifle before getting in a car.”
Hope agreed that he had not filled in the forms correctly, but denied he had purposely tried to mislead the licensing team. He also denied that he tried to evade the police officer during the events leading to his most recent conviction.
Magistrates upheld the council’s decision and ordered Hope to pay £250 court costs.
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