Taxi Driver Online

'Nice man' punched taxi driver after refusing to pay fare in 'worrying' incident

A drunken passenger who bashed a taxi driver in an argument over a fare has been spared jail but handed a suspended sentence.

Gareth Price, 39, punched the man in the face after being first taken to Sunderland and then to Ashley Road in South Shields.

Price, of Low Lane, off Boldon Lane, South Shields, hit the driver once – an act that has made his victim wary of taking future fares from the town, a court heard.

Price, who is jobless and going through bankruptcy, could remember nothing of the attack, which did not result in an assault charge.

Instead, he was hauled before the courts for making off without paying the £41.80 fare on Sunday, December 30, 2018.

The defendant, who pleaded not guilty to the charge but was convicted after a trial, has now been given a 12-week jail term, suspended for 12 months.

Prosecutor Ben Woodward told South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court: “There was a dispute about the fare and the defendant refused to pay. The injured party says force was used by the defendant. There were injuries.”

In a police statement read to the court by Mr Woodward, the driver said: “I had no warning. This male looked like a nice man. It’s worrying that he did this to me.”

Amy Lamb, defending, said: “He does have ongoing issues with depression and anxiety for which he is seeking help from various resources.

“His mental health issues have been ongoing since 2018, which is around about the time of this offence.

“He was drunk. He does tell me that he’s remorseful and he wants to apologise to the court and to the victim. It’s fair to say that he’s ashamed.

District Judge Kathryn Meek described it as a “terrifying” incident and told him: “You made off without payment of a fare to a taxi driver in the early hours of the morning or late at night.

“Part and parcel of doing this was a physical altercation in which you punched that taxi driver to the face, causing injury.

“It does look like something that is dramatically out of character.”

Price must pay the driver the £350 compensation, and there was £150 of court costs.

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IDFIMH

The above two quotes don't make sense.

Despite what those of us in the trade might hope runners don't get custodial sentences (or suspended ones), so the assault was the offence that the Judge used in coming to the suspended sentence, sadly not the runner offence.

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IDFIMH