Taxi Driver Online

The comment at the end is interesting, but who knows what will happen.

From The Courier

A taxi driver who assaulted a woman while on duty was fined £150 and ordered to pay £200 compensation.

Following an earlier trial, Sheriff Newall found Robert Adam guilty of assaulting the woman in Seagate on May 1 last year, siezing her by the throat and pushing her against a wall to her injury.

At an earlier hearing the court heard that Adam (47) of Traquair Gardens, was of otherwise unblemished character and background reports suggested that the offence was an isolated incident and that there was no risk of repitition.

Sheriff Newall told Adam that, having heard the evidence, he believed that losing his taxi license would be an excessive punishment.

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Dundee rocks. Almost.

That's the problem, nobody really knows when you have such a hit and miss system of licensing that we have been burdened with.

And when sometimes you have brain dead councillors judging what is fit and proper, the outcome is often one big balls up.

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IDFIMH

Yes, and ably demonstrated by the killer cabby in Glasgow.

As much a lottery in Scotland as in England.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

What a good looking boy eh!



http://www.eastlothiancourier.com/?modu ... ormat=html

And what a two bob council.

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IDFIMH

Just for the record, my opening statement to the councillors was that I had nothing much to add to the situation and that if I was in fact “Not a Fit and Proper Person” they should revoke the licence.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out that by suspending me they actually contradicted there own decision, resorting to a suspension and not revocation actually proves my fitness.

Had there been any doubt about my fitness the licence should have been revoked forthwith.



George Orwell"Animal Farm" (1903 - 1950)

All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.

I've aways had the opinion that councils can't/shouldn't suspense drivers.

Someone is either fit and proper to drive, or they are not fit and proper to drive, and if they are not fit and proper to drive, then they shouldn't have a license.

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IDFIMH

Have a wee look tell me what you think?


http://www.realfastblacks.co.uk/index_files/Page966.htm

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Sirius, did you read the report that my colleagues and I put together?

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These committees act in a quasi-judicial (to use the jargon) manner, for example they can take away someone's livelihood.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but bodies acting in this way should be independent and impartial under the Human Rights Act. Thus councillors can't act in this way because they are politicians, and the scenario also offends the classic doctrine of 'seperation of powers', ie the executive/government, the legislature and the judiciary should be kept separate, thus judges can't be politicians and vice versa.

I may be wrong again, but weren't councillors banned from becoming magistrates when the Human Rights Act was introduced?

However, although licensing committees would prima facie fall foul of the Human Rights Act, they are allowed to continue on the basis that there is an appeal available to a higher court.

But is this satisfactory? We all know the time, hassle, expense and general inconvenience involved with becoming involved with the courts.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

The plate matter is not entirely unrelated, because again the people deciding these things are politically motivated. This leads to the problem of 'regulatory capture', ie the regulator (council in this case) acting mainly in the interests of the regulated (current plate holders) without considering the wider public interest.

The two issues (quasi-judicial decision making and regulatory capture) are very similar, but the problem stems from one basic problem - politics.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

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