Taxi Driver Online

Because I know the company this guy worked for and I know the mindset in it. I have recent experience of this companies behaviour, but more of that to come.

What gets me though are sad fecks like you, with nothing original to say about anything, and a closed mind to make sure a new idea or common sense gets no chance to tinkle past your brain cell.

Grow up.

There are those in this trade who think they're cocks of the North. They're the top dogs. The proof is the ridiculous contempt the grade has for PH. Most of whom think they are the competition and somehow have no right to offer their service.

The customer doesn't care. Get it? The customer doesn't care. The reason they're thriving and taking ever more business from us is because sad fecks like you allow them to through your inane childish sh i te.

Now if you've got nothing better to say, get back under your stone.

Sad f*k!!

Hey, you missed out the time honoured "Once upon a time".

With your track record Swannee the laugh is that you expect anyone to believe you?

"I didn't kill him. I just fired the shot. It was the bullet that killed him."

Are you saying this is really just a paraphrase of the film Collateral?

Wouldn't that be an historic defence?

That's the story I heard, and if true, I doubt Stevie will do much porridge, if any. Although, he'll have to do his lie down on remand.

Just for the record, briefly, there was an altercation between the drivers.

A motive may be established.

The PHC then tailgated the taxi after leaving the garage (witnessed.)

So, what happened to the witness? Truly independent or a friendly alibi? Describe "tailgated". Explain how this couldn't just be explained as a simple matter of the PHC leaving the garage after the taxi? You've not been helpful here

They then proceeded to a park area where events took a nasty turn.

So the taxi left the garage before the PHC - he was being tailgated remember - How come the taxi ended up at Saughton Park? A known taxi pickup point? Explain how the taxi being there is not a premeditated act.

The campaign to show the deceased as a sweet family man is slightly tainted by the fact that, for some reason, he carried a rather large knife in his phc and intended to use it on the other driver. Perhaps different cultures and different ideas on what is acceptable?

So the taxi driver was stabbed with this weapon? He went straight to hospital? He reported an assault, or attempted, to the cops? No? Then how is it relevant? It was found in the street, or on the PHC driver's person? And where is the intent here? And can't we now expect the cops to randomly pull all taxis and search for offensive weapons? Gee thanks.

In a panic the taxi drove off with either the phc driver throwing himself in front of it in an effort to stop it or the cabbie deliberately driving over him. Take your pick.

You're making the claim. So which was it? A suicidal PHC driver with a wife he doted on and a 4 year old child? What would make him want the taxi to stop in the first place?

Or the cabbie deliberately driving over him? (twice wasn't it alleged?) Fact is "deliberately" is a slam dunk on its own. Intent is murder, end of. We're all allowed in law to use reasonable force to defend ourselves. Isn't driving a vehicle over someone (allegedly twice) something of a stretch as reasonable defensive action? methinks you may just have made the matter worse here.

How would you react to a knife threat?

No matter how it ended, it would be an instant report to the police. End of.

To his credit when it was realised that injuries were more serious than first thought the cabbie called the police himself. At no time did he try to hide anything.

Once the victim was identified, there was no hiding place. The victims known contacts, CCTV and other forensic evidence mean no hiding place here. Back to the same question. If you've been attacked, why not report the matter immediately? Any alleged threat had gone.

Are these the actions of a cold-blooded killer or just a guy who was out of his depth when threatened with a knife?

The law doesn't care how the actions originated, it's how they were dealt with that's important to it. Reasonable force! It might seem macho to go round the corner to sort it out, what this proves is just how tragic it can be.

This is an incident that escalated out of a triviality and should be a lesson to us all.

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It's no longer a triviality unfortunately.

While I can't agree with what seems to have happened, there is more than one victim here.

The PHC driver's family are without a husband, a father, a brother, a son.

But the cabbies' family are victims too. Those who love him will be made to pay a penalty for something they had no making of.

And the cabbie's life is also ruined. Who would want want him to languish in jail for something (without these terrible consequences of course) which happens on a regular basis.

The cowardly cabbie who punches another completely unawares through the window, whose punch could have caused severe brain damage or death, is he less guilty than the cabby here? Or just lucky that in his case the consequences were not so serious?

Yet we all know this macho nonsense happens regularly as the "brave" boys seek to use force to settle scores they can't win through reasoned argument.

The thing about our adversarial legal system is that the defence lawyers will get their chance to prove the circumstances of the case. Let's hope that if the truth is that this truly was just an accident they are able to prove their point.

Let's hope that if this was just a tragic accident, then the cabbie involved gets the best legal defence he can to establish it, and the victim was subject to an accident and not a murder.

Let's hope the families find the inner strength to get through what is before them.

And let's hope that all associated with our trade finally become engaged in the decision taking within the trade bodies and stop trying to fight internecine battles through petty macho bullsh*t.

Surely no one wants more lives to be ruined here.

So: You haven't helped matters here.

Remember: Innocent until proven guilty.

Incidently, in my own case, where the individual performed a perfect and somewhat spectacular stunt roll over the front of my bonnet, I left the scene, waited round the corner and reported the matter to the police immediately. It happened when I saw the assault coming, the potential damage to my taxi and was trying to avoid the miscreant.

So, I do know how a determined individual can come into contact with your car. I was rightly acquitted.

I am sure Stevie, had no intention of killing the Ph driver, either at the garage or upon his arrival at Saughton Park. And I don't think that anyone could claim, he set out to use his taxi as a weapon.

The only premeditated act, I can see, lies with the Ph driver preparing himself with a knife.

I might also add that, if Stevie sticks to his story of running over his knife wielding attacker accidentally, while attempting to make his escape, and the prosecution can't prove otherwise, there's no means rea. Stevie was simply acting out of fear for his own life.

I think the question would be, what would you do faced with the same circumstances?

The fact that the chap has been charged leads me to think we haven't heard a fraction of what actually happened. Which isn't uncommon.

Only time will tell.

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IDFIMH

Hopefully Justice will prevail, its a sad happening and i like Skull Like Stevie but we have to in both trades tackle the issue of Red mist decending which blinkers a drivers judgement when faced with a serious situation, most of us have filled with rage but most of us don't act on that rage, we just put it down to experiance and learn from it, rage lessens with experiance but for some, well they'll never learn, they tend not to last long, Taxying can be and should be easy but in my opinion we make it hard for ourselves, we all must learn from this sad happening, nothing is worth the loss of a life, not even a £5 fare.

I suggest out of respect for both parties we wait until after the outcome before we discuss further this very sad happening

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!

I'm afraid Dougie, if there was a knife involved on the behalf of the Ph driver, as the story goes. It will have nothing to do with likes or dislikes but the facts. You don't pull a blade and then get run over because you never intended to use it, or at least, that's how Stevie's defense lawyer will see it. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you want to look at it. The prosecution won't be able to prove otherwise. The Ph driver will be seen as the aggressor and Stevie as the victim trying to escape his attacker, accidentally running him over in the process.

I just wonder what witnesses, there are, or if there is evidence that proves otherwise.

If Stevie keeps his mouth shut, and lets his brief do the talking, with no witnesses or physical evidence, to the contrary. It's his word against a man who pursued him with a knife.

As long as there are no clangers, I fancy his chances of getting off with it.

For once I agree with you, Dougie. There's nothing to be gained rehearsing incomplete knowledge on a forum. As long as the defendant is afforded unfettered access to legal representation then ultimately the truth will out.

But let's remember that a man is dead, whatever happened. And he didn't deserve it.

I suspect that avenue of action has been and gone.

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IDFIMH

Anything you say to your brief may be confidential, but he can't conduct himself on your behalf in ignorance of what you've said, he is not allowed to lie in court on your behalf.

So, even though you have a brief, you should still consider carefully whatever you have to say. It can come back to bite you.

That much is true, but they do it all the time. The name of the game is getting your client off with whatever crime he's committed. If the court system depended on lawyers being honest, it would be the lowest-paid job in the country.

I'll guarantee, if Stevie, has kept his mouth shut the lawyer will present what evidence, there is, and ask him how he wants to plead. He's not remotely interested in the rights or wrongs of what really happened, only in the money for providing a defense.

What Stevie needs to know is what the evidence allows him to deny, while having a good bullshit story for everything else. He might on occasion even tell the truth.

I think it's what he needed to know, not sure it applies now.

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IDFIMH