£70 fine after being a Good SamaritanA KIND-HEARTED private hire driver has been slapped with a £70 parking ticket after going above and beyond the call of duty to help an ill elderly passenger.
Andover and Villages Private Hire owner Paul Stanford was dropping off a customer in Waterloo Court who had complained of feeling unwell and decided to help the woman, who was in her 80s, get to the bank.
Unfortunately for Mr Stanford, 47, the only space available was an empty taxi bay.
The dad-of-two spent a few minutes ensuring his customer got to her destination safely, but on his return he was greeted by a traffic warden who issued him with a fine.
He says he believes his actions were further justified when 36 hours later his customer had a stroke, fell over fracturing her skull and smashed an ear drum rendering her deaf in one ear.
Mr Stanford appealed the decision, but says he has been met with nothing but the council rulebook.
The Junction Road resident said: “The customer is a bit frail, but very independent still. She never moans about anything, but as soon as she got into my car she did complain about not feeling well.
“I quickly decided that I was going to get her as close to the bank as possible if she was determined to get there to sort something out.
“I pulled into Waterloo Court by the multi-storey car park and the old Metro.
“The only available space was the empty taxi bay there. I decided that I would briefly park there and escort her to the bank to make sure that at least she got to their front doors safely to ease my conscience.
“I was gone three to four minutes.”
In the weeks since the incident in July, Mr Stanford has pursued an appeal, only to recently be told he had failed.
He added: “The council never took my reasons into account. I never had a chance.
“What if it were their own ill relative or parents – would they behave so shamefully?
“I thought common sense would have taken over here, but they just weren’t interested in the mitigating circumstances.”
Test Valley Borough Council’s planning policy and transport chief, Councillor Martin Hatley, said: “We are sorry to hear that the lady had a fall several days after this incident.
“Drivers are permitted to stop on double yellow lines to drop off or pick up passengers, provided there are no loading restrictions and the vehicle is not causing an obstruction or danger to other road users.
“However, regrettably Mr Stanford had stopped in the taxi rank. It is strictly prohibited for any vehicle, other than a taxi, to stop in this area. As the driver of a private hire vehicle Mr Stanford would have been aware of this.
“We regret that Mr Stanford is unhappy with the council’s decision not to uphold his appeal.
The independent Traffic Penalties Tribunal also considered the appeal and found in favour of the authority.”
source:
http://www.andoveradvertiser.co.uk/news ... Samaritan/
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