Taxi Driver Online

Drink-drive taxi driver banned



A TAXI driver has been banned from the roads after being caught behind the wheel while over the drink drive limit.

Tony Reed, 46, was nabbed by police in the early hours and admitted he had had "quite a few" when he appeared at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court.

He was slammed with an 18-month driving ban and magistrates heard that Reed, who is married with children, faces an uncertain future as he will lose his job as a result of the conviction.

The self-employed driver was caught in the town's Oxford Road at 2.50am on October 21 after police were tipped off that he had been drinking.

Reed got behind the wheel while he was one-and-a-half times the limit because he did not want to leave his vehicle after going for a drink, although he was not working or carrying passengers at the time, the court heard.

Prosecuting, Alan Davison said: "Police received a tip-off that the driver of a Vauxhall Vectra taxi may have been drinking."

He said that when officers received the information they were driving in the town's Oxford Road and saw a vehicle passing and put on the blue lights stopped the it.

Magistrates heard that Reed told them he had had "quite a few" and he was found to have 60 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Mr Davison said: "It's fair to say he was off duty. At the time he was not working as a taxi driver and there was no passengers on board."
Reed admitted to drink driving and his solicitor, Neil Taylor, said he had "fully co-operated" with police and said he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Mr Taylor added: "The ramifications are clear because he is a taxi driver. He will lose his job and his licence all because he did not want to leave the car where he parked it when he decided to go for a drink.

"He is a married man with children and clearly the family finances are going to be very badly hit. He is going to go from earning to not earning."

Magistrates fined Reed, of Worcester Gardens, Hartlepool, £115, ordered him to pay £45 costs and a £15 surcharge.

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

At least he wasn't picking fares up there used to be one around here about 15 years ago who used to have a few drinks then go out picking fares up !!! It took 2 years of complaints from other cabbies before the police finally caught him !

FFS

CC

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

Struggle to keep his job if he can't drive.

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IDFIMH

Guilty plea, fine based on his income, which is zilch, or is given as zilch, sounds about right.

The ban is the penalty.

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IDFIMH

The fine is not important. The 18 month ban will cost him much more than that. £175 is a lot of money for an unemployed man. Serves him right too.

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