Taxi Driver Online

Driving ban for taxi driver who had taken cannabis


A TAXI driver has lost his licence after admitting drugs driving.

Azhar Hussain’s taxi collided with a police car, he was unsteady on his feet and he also fell over, heard Skipton Magistrates Court today (Friday).

Police officers were speaking to Hussain in his taxi which was parked in Steeton Grove, Steeton at just after midnight on June 25, when the vehicle moved forward into the police car.

Hussain, 40, was asked to get out of his taxi, he was unsteady on his feet, and fell over, said prosecutor, Martin Butterworth.

Hussain failed a drugs impairment test and a blood sample later revealed he had 2.5 microgrammes of the cannabis by product, Delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol in one litre of blood, the specified limit is 2 microgrammes.

The taxi driver, who admitted drugs driving and was of previous good character, had acted completely out of character, the court was told.

In mitigation, Gulfraz Khan said Hussain had diabetes and was very tired at the time. He had been suspended following the incident, would now lose his licence as a taxi driver, and would have to find alternative work. He pointed out there had only been a slight scratch to the police car and there had been no claim for compensation.

Hussain, of Westview Grove, Keighley, was banned from driving for 12 months, fined £120 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and surcharge of £30.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... -cannabis/

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

No sh*t sherlock

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

Well at least he was being thoughtful by making it easy for the police

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Guessing his middle name's not Lucky.

_________________
IDFIMH

I dont think he'd remember it anyway

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

Not the most powerful of defence mitigation I've seen.

_________________
IDFIMH

On the other hand, at a rough guess I'd say that the cannabis *wasn't* the reason he was 'unsteady and fell over'.

He was just very marginally over the limit, and the limit I think is set very low to catch people who may drive long after the effects have worn off. I think.

But if I'm right I suspect there are tons of drivers out there with illegal levels of cannabis who get away with it, either because they never come to the attention of the police, or if they do then they're not blood tested for it because they won't be showing obvious signs of impairment.

sorry Stuart but he shouldn't have been smoking pot full stop

he wasn't UNLUCKY the travelling public were Lucky the police caught him

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

You're making it sound like I was claiming he should have got away with it.

My point, essentially, was that I suspect the cannabis wasn't the reason he came to the attention of the police.

No you were making out it wasn't a serious matter and last i checked smoking cannabis has NOT been legalised

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

And a broken coil spring hasn't been legalised either

My point was that he was only *marginally* over the cannabis limit, and to that degree I don't think that was what caused his impairment.

I mean, he couldn't stand up properly with 2.5 mgs, but he would have been legal with 2.0 mgs?

So to say that that was the cause of his impairment doesn't ring true, somehow.

Either that or the figures suggest he could be within the legal limit but still seriously impaired, in my opinion

I didn't say it was BUT a car suspension can still function with it broken albeit it shouldn't be working

anyway you are never going to accept my arguments about cannabis and I have seen people become disorientated after smoking it so lets leave it at that

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Well I don't doubt that, but that wasn't my point. Below is some stuff I was looking at on the rank the other night.

After smoking a joint levels in the blood would be something like 100 micrograms/litre.

The legal limit is 2 micrograms. The driver's level was 2.5 micrograms.

Which it's suggested could easily be attainted simply by passive/accidental inhalation. So watch out the next time someone's smoking pot in your car

Anyway, here's what I drafted the other night - can't be bothered checking the figures again, but the main source of info is via the link at the bottom:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Passive inhalation of cannabis smoke can result in figures of between 1 and 7 micrograms/litre

One study showed a level of 2 micrograms *nine* days after cannabis use.

An average sized joint could cause a peak concentration of 120 micrograms in just 8 minutes. The legal limit is 2 micrograms.

So the legal limit is 2 micrograms, this guy was measured at 2.5.

Which has been found in tests up to nine days after use, and it's possible that could be exceeded by passive use.

So if he'd recorded 100 micrograms (say) rather than 2.5, I'd say that that was the cause of his impairment.

But at a rough guess I would say the recorded levels wouldn't have been the cause of his visible impairment.

Suspect he'd taken it the day before, or quite a few hours before at least, and that any obvious impairment would have worn off by the time he was stopped.

Another possible reason is maybe that there was a significant delay between him being stopped and being tested. Apparently the level drops rapidly within a few hours, and probably a lot more rapidly than alcohol levels, most obviously. If the test had been conducted another 10-20 minutes or so later he could well have been under the limit.

https://www.drinkdrivingsolicitor.co.uk ... /cannabis/

By the way, for what it's worth, I've never done drugs or smoked*, and go months or weeks without touching alcohol. Haven't touched a drop in months, and in fact didn't touch a drop at all during most of my 40s

*Apart from the usual few cigarettes when I was about 14. And I didn't even inhale them - didn't know how to

We mustn't confuse the rules relating to drink driving to that of drug driving.

As the law stands now you are allowed alcohol when driving but not an amount that will effect your driving. Hence the 35 mg max.

That doesn't apply for drug driving. That is a strict liability offence, any drugs in your system and you are deemed over the limit. The 2 mg is basically there to cover the effect of prescription drugs that you are permitted to take whilst being able to drive.

_________________
IDFIMH