Just to keep Edders happy, another potentially misleading newspaper headline here below, for maybe three different reasons:
1 It's not a 'cab' licence, because it's primarily about a driver's badge, not a vehicle.
2 It's not a 'cab' because it's about a private hire badge. And abbreviating 'minicab' to mean 'cab' is a bit of a stretch, because very few people in Scotland could tell you what a minicab is, precisely.
3 The word passenger in the headline below might imply that it was a fare-paying passenger, whereas he had nothing to do with the trade at the time. It was a friend of the applicant who died.
(As usual, the thread title is my wording, while the headline below is that on the newspaper's website.)
Driver who caused death of passenger given cab licencehttps://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/178 ... b-licence/A DRINK driver who collided into a tree, causing the death of his backseat passenger, has been granted a cab driver’s licence. In December 2004 Scott Ewart had been on a night out with friends in Glasgow before getting behind the wheel to drive home.
They were travelling along Great Western Road when Ewart hit black ice, swerved across onto the other side of the road before crashing into a tree which caused the woman in the back seat to go through the windscreen.
In March 2006 Ewart was charged under the Road Traffic Act for driving over the limit with 101 micrograms of alcohol in his blood when the limit of 80 micrograms.
At the time he was placed on a community payback order and disqualified from driving for three years.
Mr Ewart was brought before the licensing committee on Thursday morning to explain how he had learned from his horrendous experience.
Breaking down in tears he said: “I was driving home from a night out with two friends in the car. The front seat passenger grabbed the wheel but we hit black ice and I lost control of the car.
“The girl in the back seat went through the window and died from her injuries and I am so sorry this has happened. It has been really hard to live with.”
In 2004 flowers were laid at the scene of the accident in Anniesland to pay tribute the victim of the tragedy.
Mr Ewart told the committee of how he has been trying to put his life back together after the incident.
He went on: “I have had my current licence since 2009 and I rarely drink anymore. Since then I have never been behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of alcohol.
“At the moment I work as a delivery driver but I am on a zero hours contract. It is not ideal and I would like more flexibility with my working hours.
“I want to be a role model for my family and to be able to support them.”
Councillor Alex Wilson said: “This incident was a number of years ago and you seem to have learned your lesson.”
Mr Ewart has been granted a private hire car driver’s licence for six weeks and can apply to renew it once it has expired.
Following the meeting Mr Wilson explained why the committee came to this agreement.
He said: “The panel felt that Mr Ewart showed a lot of remorse at this meeting. Given the time scale he has turned his life around and wanted a second chance.
“As a result the committee decided to give him a chance because it was a temporary licence.”
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