Taxi Driver Online

Cumbrian taxi driver escapes ban over red light



A TAXI driver who claims he was wrongly convicted of running a red light has escaped a potential ban.

Jason Barnes, 42, of Kirkbampton, was in front of Carlisle City Council’s regulatory panel.

The father-of-four feared he could receive a two-week ban from operating his taxi – which he said would have been a big blow on his finances so close to Christmas.

But following an appeal to the panel, during which he claimed he had been unfairly convicted, members decided to give him another chance.

Mr Barnes was convicted of failing to comply with traffic signals at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court in September.

But he claims he was not notified of the hearing – so was unable to plead his innocence. Instead he was convicted in his absence and fined £200.

The incident happened on May 30. His taxi was pulled in by an unmarked police officer on Brook Street, who claimed he had run a red light while driving on London Road. Mr Barnes disputed the offence, and said his passenger at the time was willing to act as a witness in court.

As a result he did not accept a fixed penalty notice, instead saying he would go to court and plead not guilty.

But he claims that despite letting the police know his intention, and that he had a witness willing to testify, he never received a summons. “First of all I got a letter from the police that didn’t have enough postage on it. I had to pick it up and pay £1.60 out of my own pocket.

“There was no mention of a court date, just a police statement. I sent my own statement back and heard nothing more. To be honest it had been so long I thought the case had been dropped,” he said.

Mr Barnes said the next he heard was in September, when he received a letter from the court saying the case had been proved in his absence.

He was being fined £200, £85 costs and a £35 victim surcharge, plus given three points on his driving license.

“I was disappointed. Very disappointed. I didn’t get the chance to go to court – and the fine was higher because I wasn’t there,” he said.

“I rang the court and they said I could appeal but that would probably have cost me more than the fine. I’ll just have to take the conviction.”

However as a condition of his taxi license, Mr Barnes had to notify the council of his conviction. As he had a passenger in the taxi at the time of the offence he was called in front of the regulatory panel – which has the power to issue warnings and bans.

However, after hearing his story, the panel decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Councillor Stephen Layden said he was concerned that Mr Barnes had not been given his day in court. “I feel very disturbed by it. It just seems wrong and unfair.”

The panel was also told that Mr Barnes, who has driven taxis in Carlisle since 2002, had a clean license and no previous convictions prior to this incident.

source: http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/cumbr ... -1.1100111

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Cant open the attachment,but would you rather he was banned ?

nope - just thought it was a cock and bull story

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I dont doubt that,but it would have been harsh to penalize him further.

yeah - I agree, but sadly this Labour run council committee is the worst we've had in Carlisle since the Labour run council committee deregulated the place in 1994. Some of their decisions are mad.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Sounds the same as this labour lot round here.

Anyone in such a situation has only to turn up to court as soon as he got his fine through, tell the court under oath he didn't know about the hearing, and the case will be re-opened.

He well knew that, but clearly the dumb arse councillors didn't.

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IDFIMH

Why do you say that he knew that? I certainly didn't know that and I have read several stories in the local press where people say they were not informed of their court dates and have been found guilty in their absense and they didn't seem to know either.

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Grandad,

There's a lot of cases on Pepipoo where people have been fined in their absence due to never receiving court papers.

This double jeopardy ought to be scrapped, it's the bane of any professional driver's life, not only for the licenced trade but PSV and HGV drivers as well. Get done for a motoring offence in court, then face the licencing committee or Traffic Commissioner and have your vocational licence suspended for a time or even revoked! As professional drivers we "shouldn't" make mistakes, but being human, we all do; why get penalised twice for it?

Somewhere along the line people find out they have been fined etc in their absence.

It can be a 'without without bail' notice via a policeman with handcuffs, or the bailiff knocking on the door demanding money, or even a letter in the post. But they eventually find out.

From the first time they find out they have 21 days to go to court and make the stat dec. If the court agree (almost always) then anything outstanding is cancelled, and the prosecuting authority must start from scratch.

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IDFIMH