Taxi driver left man to carry injured passenger across Carlisle roadA taxi driver with more than 30 years’ service has had his licence suspended after his poor treatment of an elderly woman suffering from a fractured pelvis.
Ian Morton, of Edenside, Cargo, cannot work for the next two months following the decision by Carlisle City Council’s regulatory panel after a complaint.
The panel also ruled that Mr Morton must complete a Driving Standards Agency ‘taxi’ test and attend a disability awareness session before returning to work. Councillors heard how a passenger said he was left to carry his upset mother-in-law, who was suffering from a fractured pelvis, across St Peter’s Drive in Lowry Hill at the end of their journey in Mr Morton’s taxi.
He had asked for the cabbie, who has worked as a night-time taxi driver for 33 years, to pull up on the driveway or turn the car around so she was nearer the entrance to the house, to save her walking far, only to be told neither could be done.
Mr Morton told the man he would not be insured to pull up on the driveway because it was “private land” and he would not turn around because “the computer said we’ve arrived at the address”.
The man and his mother-in-law had been picked up from the Cumberland Infirmary in the early hours of November 23, where she had been seen in A&E after falling earlier during a family wedding at the Hallmark Hotel.
The complainant said his mother-in-law was in “a great deal of pain” and had to be wheeled out to the taxi in a wheelchair.
His complaint read: “Had my mother-in-law not been in the vehicle I may have asked if he was joking or ‘taking the mick’ but I was conscious of her distress.
“We had to get out of the taxi and I tried to help her across the road. Halfway across she was crying as the pain was too much and I had to carry her the rest of the way.”
Mr Morton told councillors on the panel this week that he had been “trying to stay within the rules” and that he had not wanted to be accused of driving illegally or of overcharging for taking a longer route had his meter “clicked” while attempting a U-turn.
He also repeated his argument that he thought he would not be insured on the driveway.
Councillors were told that Mr Morton has faced at least two other allegations in the past about his actions towards passengers, as well as a number of motoring and other vehicle-related issues.
They included him being suspended by his operator in 2007 following allegations from a member of the public that he had left a 16-year-old girl a mile away from her home late at night because she did not have enough fare.
source:
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1.1188442
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