North Tyneside driver with 62 convictions is granted taxi licence Christopher Adam has 62 convictions, including five for dangerous driving, 16 for driving while disqualified and 13 for no insurance.
But despite it all, he’s just been granted the right to drive a taxi.
Today, North Tyneside Council said it was “disappointed” after the dad-of-two was given his licence by a court.
And a road safety charity warned that taxi drivers were in a position of responsibility to passengers and other road users.
Christopher Adam was initially refused a licence to drive a cab by North Tyneside Council because of the high number of offences on his record.
Dating back to 1992, his record of shame shows 27 offences of dishonesty as well as the string of driving offences.
The council felt he was not a “fit and proper person” to be granted a taxi licence and turned his application down last April.
But Adam, 37, of Bolam Way, Seaton Delaval, appealed, saying he had left his criminal past behind him and was now a responsible married man.
At North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, he stressed his last offence was about seven years ago. He had since married and settled down.
He said he started offending young as he was unhappy at home and associating with the wrong crowd. “I started getting into trouble and got into a vicious circle. I feel very ashamed of the offending. I try to put it behind me. It’s something I try to forget about. Unfortunately I can’t change the past. It’s only the future I can change.
“I am in a stable relationship and have new friends now. I don’t associate with the same people I was with then. I feel I’m a different person now. I’m a family man. I don’t want my children to grow up in the environment I had. I want to change things.
“Driving a taxi would be a great way for me to make a living. It’s a great way to work flexible hours. I have had a driving licence for three years and there are no motoring convictions on it.”
His solicitor Adrian Ions said the probation service had written in support of Adam.
But the council’s senior licensing officer Alan Newton said: “It’s the sheer volume of offences that gave myself and the committee cause for concern.”
Chairman of the bench, Joan Kay, said: “Mr Adam says he is now a rehabilitated person. He has not been in trouble for the last seven years. He has dissociated himself from his previous negative peers.
“He is settled and wants to provide for his family. The probation service says he has distanced himself from offending behaviour. The final part of the successful rehabilitation would be for Mr Adam to find employment.
“We are satisfied that Mr Adam is now a fit and proper person and grant the appeal.” After the hearing, a council spokesman said: “The safety of the public when using private hire and taxi vehicles is of paramount importance to the council.
“Our original decision to refuse the taxi licence was upheld by the council’s regulation and review committee, which considered that the applicant was not a fit and proper person to hold a taxi licence. We are disappointed with the court’s decision to grant the licence.”
Siobhan MacMahon, campaigns officer for road safety charity Brake, said: “Taxi drivers have a responsibility not just for themselves and other road users, but also for the lives of their passengers.
“When a passenger gets into a taxi they put their trust in the driver.” She said: “It is a worry that someone with such a huge number of previous convictions has been given a taxi driver licence, but we sincerely hope that it is possible for drivers to see the error of their ways and reform.”
After the hearing, Mr Adam told the Sunday Sun he had “done everything in my power to turn my life around”. He said: “I have worked with the probation service, completed all the courses required of me and passed an extended driving test. I’ve held a clean driving licence for around three years. I don’t know what more I can do.
“People can and do change. Should I be persecuted and punished for the rest of my life for things that happened when I was younger? I’m a different person now. I have a family to look after and I’m trying my best to provide for them.”
source:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor ... ns-5375297
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