Pilot slams taxi driver for 'watching cricket at 90mph' after Bristol Airport pick-uphttps://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bris ... ng-3053592Jon Anson says he was forced to endure a nerve-wracking, four hour taxi ride
Image: Bristol Airport/Bristol PostA pilot has claimed a taxi driver who picked him up from Bristol Airport was watching cricket on his phone while speeding at 90mph.
Jon Anson, who works for Eastern Airways, had an Arrow Cars taxi booked for him for a journey from Bristol to Humberside on Monday (July 1).
However, the 54-year-old claims he was forced to endure a nerve-wracking four hours as the driver exceeded the speed limit, struggled to stay awake and watched cricket on his phone.
Arrow Cars has insisted the driver was just "listening" to the cricket and that the company's drivers are "very professional".
"I was picked up from Bristol Airport and we went onto the M5," Mr Anson told Bristol Live.
"The driver was doing about 90mph and eating crisps with one hand.
"I leaned forward to tell him to calm down, we're not in a hurry and that it's making me nervous.
"As I did that, I saw he had a video of the cricket streaming on his phone.
"I was amazed. I said to him I don't think that's appropriate. He told me he wasn't really watching the cricket - just glancing at it."
Mr Anson claims the driver then struggled to stay awake later on in the journey.
"Five or six times it looked like he was losing concentration," he said.
"On the M18 near Doncaster, he closed his eyes for about four or five seconds.
"I shook him and asked him whether he was alright.
"He said he just had to close his eyes for a second - I couldn't believe what I was hearing."
The driver eventually stopped at Doncaster Services for a brief rest.
"We stopped at Doncaster services and the driver had a coffee and stretched his legs," he said.
"We've been all there on long journeys but a professional driver needs to recognise when he's getting tired
"The whole point of having the car booked for me was so I could get some rest before the flight, not so I could babysit the taxi driver.
"I was nervous at the start of the journey but when he closed his eyes, I was really alarmed."
What Arrow Cars saidA spokesman for Arrow Cars denied the driver was speeding on the motorway or that he was struggling to stay awake.
"All of our drivers are very professional," he said.
"The driver had just started his shift so couldn't have been tired.
"We provide a very high-standard service.
"Nothing like this has happened before - it's totally not true."
He also insisted the driver in question was just "listening" to the cricket rather than watching it.
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