Taxi Driver Online

Plymouth driver who made rude gesture wins licence battle
By Plymouth Herald | Posted: January 18, 2016
By Stuart Abel
A TAXI driver stripped of his licence after he was filmed making a rude gesture has won his legal battle to save his livelihood.
Mark Hooper, aged 54, had his hackney carriage badge revoked for a string of offences – including gesticulating in his vehicle.
The main allegation against him was that he failed to tell licensing chiefs about a conviction for doing a U-turn in contravention of a road sign.
But a judge and magistrates sitting at Plymouth Crown Court have upheld his appeal against the city council’s decision to revoke his licence.
Mr Hooper, who has been allowed to work pending the hearing, has instead been suspended for a month.
Plymouth City Council’s licensing committee ruled in September that he was “not a fit and proper person” to drive a hackney carriage.
The appeal heard he had repeatedly driven with worn tyres, failed to notify the council of a motoring conviction and been aggressive towards councillors and staff.
The court heard that Mr Hooper had been given five notices taking his car off the road for having tyres worn below the legal limit.
He was also suspended for two days by the licensing committee for making the gesture in Alma Road early last year. Mr Hooper was filmed by police officers in a car.
Mr Hooper also breached by-laws by “over-ranking”, parking next to a taxi rank where all the spaces were full, and failing to wear a badge.
Mr Hooper, a driver for 15 years and representing himself, admitted he had “made mistakes”.
The court heard he was making the gesture towards a friend in an approaching car and not at the police officer.
He said: “I am not a bad man. I am a maverick and the council doesn’t like mavericks. I have been bullied and victimised”.
Mr Hooper said he was advised by the Taxi Association that he did not have to tell the council about his conviction because he did not receive any penalty points on his licence.
Recorder Simon Levene said himself and the magistrates that the licensing committee had been wrong to revoke Mr Hooper’s licence.
He said the “main offence” was failing to inform the council about his conviction last year.
But Recorder Levene said there was confusion about when Mr Hooper heard about the court hearing in his absence.
He added it was “significant mitigation” that he was advised he did not have to tell the council.
Recorder Levene said they could not be sure that Mr Hooper had made the gesture towards the policeman holding the camera.

Read more: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymout ... z3xdfGgXAY

_________________
Chris The Fish

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

Repeatedly driving a CAB WITH DANGEROUS TYRES FFS and he's fit and proper obviously the Magistrates down there are yer typical SCUM that sit on the bench in courts across the nation

_________________
All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

Plymouth taxi driver too broke to buy Christmas presents after licence wrongly revoked


A PLYMOUTH taxi driver has spoken of the heartbreak at being unable to buy Christmas presents for his teenage daughters after his licence was wrongly revoked.

Mark Hooper won the legal battle to save his livelihood earlier this week after a judge upheld his appeal against Plymouth City Council's (PCC) decision to revoke his licence.

The 54-year-old claims to have lost more than £1,800 in wages following a three-month dispute with PCC, who accused him of failing to tell licensing chiefs about a conviction for doing a U-turn in the road.

But Mark, a taxi driver for 15 years, believes the true cost of his court nightmare has been felt by his twin daughters, Marley-Jay and Morgan-Lee.

"My only love is my two girls," he said. "I haven't got anyone else. It broke my heart when they stayed on Christmas Day and I couldn't get them anything.

"They were so content to just spend the day with me. They kept saying, 'It's okay, dad' or 'we don't mind' - but it broke my heart that I couldn't buy them any presents.

"This was the first Christmas where I was unable to get them anything and that's going to live with me forever. You can't put a price on that. It can't be fixed."

PCC's licensing committee ruled in September that Mark was "not a fit and proper person" to drive a hackney carriage, though he was still permitted to get behind the wheel of his taxi.

He was accused of making an inappropriate gesture towards a police officer in Alma Road early last year and "over-ranking", parking next to a taxi-rank where all the designated spaces were full.

Mark, who admitted in court he had "made mistakes", said he was now looking forward to returning to the road and moving forward.

"I was told that I could still drive, but I didn't want to in case I ended up back in court for driving when I shouldn't have been," he explained.

"I do regret the finger gesture, but that was made to a friend of mine who was passing.

"It wasn't aimed at the police officer and as for the U-turn conviction, that's my only crime. But how many times do you see a taxi driver do a U-turn in the road? In some places, like the taxi rank by Derry's Cross, you have to do a U-turn just to get in line.

"Technically, that's breaking the law - but do any of those drivers get a conviction? No.

"That U-turn is the only thing I've ever done wrong in my life and it's ended up costing me three months' work. I'm not evil, I'm not a predator, I'm not a bad person. I just did one poxy U-turn."


Read more: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymout ... z3xjRXgXf8

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

CONTINUALLY USING Illegal tyres means he is not FIT AND PROPER and clearly intellectually limited his appalling Tyres could have caused a serious accident which could have killed INNOCENT people HE SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED BACK AS A TAXI DRIVER !


The usual me me me syndrome hes an absolute PARASITE

_________________
All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

If this guy with the knowledge of the licensing function was continually using bald tyres he should have been charged with the offence and the local authority licensing Officers charged with "Failing to provide a duty of care to the general public" in licensing this guy and his vehicle.

Questions should be asked whether the Councillors and Officers of this Authority actually care about PUBLIC SAFETY.

Exactly Get the barsted off the road NOW

_________________
All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE