Taxi Driver Online

I would like tell you about a predicament in which a taxi driver friend found himself.

My friend is a Licensed Hackney and PH Taxi driver, and for the passed twenty years has worked in Swansea Wales with an unblemished record.

About eighteen months ago he picked up a young man who selected his taxi from the queue saying he preferred to travel in a car rather than a larger vehicle.

Driver heads off towards the destination as instructed by the passenger but asks if the chap has money for the trip. The passenger does not have sufficient funds.

Driver suggests stopping at an Atm. passenger does not have a card and driver says he will return to town centre.

The Passenger starts to get out of the taxi leaving the driver no alternative but to stop.

The passenger gets out saying he will get the driver for this, because he should not to stop on a clearway.

The case comes to court and the driver is fined heavily plus costs plus a victim damage award.

A very heafty amount of money, over one thousand three hundred pounds, including the solicitors fee, all for a ten pound journey.

Unfortunately many passengers try to get a fee ride in a saloon taxi because they are able to open the rear doors and alight, where as they are locked in a larger bus type taxi.

Now the local council commitee have given a two month ban from immediate effect to the driver, likening his crime to the severity of rapists and drunk drivers.

The whole case is a grey area. The statement given to the court by the passenger was full of untruths.

My friend feels badly about stopping the car but it would have been worse if the chap had fallen out of a moving vehicle and damaged himself severely.

No thought was given to the fact that this chap had deliberately entered a taxi without the means to pay.

He also instucted the driver to go along the by-pass because it is a byelaw that the taxi cant stop to let someone out.

I wonder what your readers views are and if any other Taxi driver has suffered two punishments for the same crime.

What was he charged with?

Did he plead guilty?

_________________
IDFIMH

never mind WHAT he was charged with, more to the point WHO charged him? was a copper standing all day hoping for a crime to appear?

_________________
Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

I think there is more to this than meets the eye. I doubt that he was charged with stopping on a clearway.

_________________
Grandad,

probably

a witness statement wouldnt be enough to charge a driver, it would be him against the driver

_________________
Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

I'm 100% certain he wasn't, hence the request for more info.

_________________
IDFIMH

There's got to be more to this than meets the eye. Assault maybe?

A transcript from the court or details of the charges would help.

The passenger reported the driver for leaving him in Peril.
The council took driver to Magistrates court, he was charged with leaving a passenger in a dangerous place without due consideration.
The magistrate said we cant have taxi drivers leaving people on clearways or motorways or dangerous places. The passenger called the police after leaving the taxi.
The council then summoned driver in front of the committee and banned him for two months with immediate effect.
The solicitor seemed surprised the driver is absolutely mortified. He appologised to the committee, having driven for twenty years with a clean license and unblemished record it is unbelievable that this could have all happened to a driver who was singled out to take a non paying passenger. I am sure there are a lot more drivers guilty of harsher crimes. This drivers crime is on a par with rapists and drunk drivers.

Any advice would be welcome. Driver is unable to appeal and is banned anyway and cant drive whilst the appeal process is being heard.

Did he plead guilty?

_________________
IDFIMH

Driver was surprised that this case was taken to theirteen months after the alleged incident.
There was no assault no bad language no dispute or fight . Nothing until the diver got a letter to say he would be prosecuted - for what he was unsure.
The solicitor said it was a byelaw dating back to 1847. Driver thinks the passenger was studying law. And was really fed up because driver would not take him to destination with out payment. Driver had turned car back towards Swansea and was going to return the chap to the rank where he picked him up.
We are totally astounded and so is the Taxi officewhere he works from. It is mind boggling. Was this chaps relative a police officer as the two plice officers picked him up and returned him to his destination.f They took a lot of time writing a report saying the passenger was frightened and left on a dark road where he was put in danger.
Pity the passenger didnt think of that before he tried to alight from a moving vehicle. Well he did - because 4ooyards earlier he could have got out at the traffic lights.
but no he waited until they crossed the lights onto the by pass. Its mystery and I dont know of any other driver prosecuted and fined and banned all for what seems a trivial tax payers wasting of time and funds.

I will ask this one last time, did he plead guilty?

If he did then your problem is with the council, not the court process/judgement.

Now that's a completely different set of laws rules conditions, so which is it?

_________________
IDFIMH

The driver was charged under road safety act
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS)ACT 1976 SECTION 61/ROAD SAFETY ACT 2006 SECTION 52 SUSPENSION OF HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE DRIVRS LICENSES, DUAL DRIVER BADGE NUMBER---- MR - - -----

THE lICENSING COMMITTEE RESOLVED, HAVING CONSIDERED THE REPORT AND THE SUBMISSIONS MADE BY YOURSELF AND REPRESENTATIVE (SOLICITOR) TO SUSPEND YOUR LICENSES WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT FOR A PERIOD OF 2 MONTHS AS YOU PLACED THE PASSENGER IN A POSITION OF PERIL BY DROPPING HIM OFF ON AN UN LIT BYE PASS. THIS DECISION WAS MADE IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC SAFETY.

iF YOU ARE AGGRIEVED BY THIS DECISION YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OF APPEAL TO THE MAGISTRATES COURT WITHIN 21 DAYS. pLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU DO APPEAL THIS DECISION YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO CONTINUE DRIVING HACKNEY CARRIAGE OF PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES PENDING THE APPEAL DECISION.

the above are the contents of the letter sent to the driver from Swansea Council and signed by the licensing officer.

Your comments please.

dual licenses are pretty bad ffs.

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

I've looked through both the 1847 and 1976 acts......there appears to be no such license as a dual PH/HC license..........and this appears to be another abuse of the immediate suspension IMO.

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

Mr English in Wales, in the Magistrates Court, DID THE DRIVER PLEAD GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY.

Sorry for shouting, but Sussex has asked and asked and you have not answered - it is a simple question - we know he was found guilty but his plea is of extreme importance here.

Waiting with anticipation.

_________________
Chris The Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdlyi5mc ... re=related