Taxi Driver Online

Some interesting bits and pieces in here, particularly the language thing


Winchester taxi driver loses appeal due to 'inappropriate' behaviour

https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/ne ... behaviour/

A WINCHESTER taxi driver has lost an appeal to reinstate his licence and must pay £12,500 in costs after he touched a woman 'inappropriately'.

Ashfaq Ur-Rehman appeared at Winchester Crown Court on December 12 in a two-day tribunal.

He was appealing Winchester City Council's decision to revoke his Hackney Carriage Licence, following allegations made by a woman.

The court heard that Mr Ur-Rehman, of Willis Road, Southampton, disputed the reasons behind revoking his licence.

Ethu Crorie, barrister for the woman complainant, said that Mr Ur-Rehman had touched her in a sexual way, used inappropriate words and drove too fast.

The court heard on one occasion in autumn 2020 he touched her thigh.

She said: "He leaned over to grab my leg. His hand grabbed my leg and I got out of the car. I told him he would never touch me again, I shouted. I then got into another vehicle for sanctuary.

"It was inappropriate behaviour, I didn't want to be there.”

She told the court that Mr Ur-Rehman made comments such as 'you look lovely today' and 'you look so fresh'.

She said she had taken photos of him speeding but had subsequently deleted them. 

Mr Crorie asked Mr Ur-Rehman about a form he had filled in when applying to Winchester City Council to renew his licence in 2012. In the form, he failed to disclose a caution he had received in 2007. 

The court also heard about previous complaints relating to Mr Ur-Rehman. They included a 'fracas' with another taxi driver in 2014 and overcharging a customer by 60p in 2015.

Jason Cross, barrister for Mr Ur-Rehman, said that Mr Ur-Rehman had been a taxi driver since 1997 and that English was not his first language. 

His wife Maniza Ur-Rehman described her husband as a 'caring and helpful person' and said her husband would be unable to hold a conversation with the complainant due to his poor English.

Recorder Charles Langley found that Mr Ur-Rehman did touch the respondent's thigh and make inappropriate comments. However, he found that there was no evidence of speeding, but that he did jump a red light on one occasion.

Mr Langley said: “He knew he did not have an exemplary record.”

As well as the unsuccessful appeal, the court ruled that Mr Ur-Rehman pay costs of £12,500 in favour of the city council within six months.

why would you do that ?

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

This matter was between the council and the driver, the lady who alleges the assault plays no part in the hearing and would never be represented.

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IDFIMH

Did think some of the stuff seemed a bit odd. But what's the explanation?

I'm guessing that the 'barrister for the woman complainant' was in fact the council's barrister in the appeal. And that the woman's statements reported in the article were in fact made to the council as part of the revocation process rather than how it's portrayed in the article as statements the woman made to the crown court?

Anyway, your point reminded me about one paragraph which did seem a tad odd, but which when I went to reread it to see exactly what it said, realised that I'd somehow managed to miss it out of the article (it's now included in the piece above, and is the second paragraph)


Apart from that I didn't think something like this would take two days, the word 'tribunal' seems odd, other than in its loosest sense. There's nothing formally called a 'tribunal' involved in this process, surely?

It strikes me as odd that he can be a cab driver since goodness knows when and still hasn't got a grasp of conversational English.

Indeed, Roy, but I'd guess his skills are probably better than his wife suggests. I mean, in 25 years as a driver, he'd surely have picked up sufficient skills in English to be able to say that the woman 'looked lovely today' and 'looked so fresh'

But it's telling that his wife felt able claim that he'd been 25 years in the job and was still incapable of conveying simple words and meaning like that

(And however poor his verbal skills, of course the context would have helped convey the words' meaning.)

Maybe Mrs Driver wasn't telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

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IDFIMH

I thought these days the phrase was being economical with the truth.

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

Why do they all want to be taxi drivers ? If you cant speak the language get a job in a factory where
your language skills wont be tested to a great deal. As a taxi driver you need to be able to understand
English to hold a decent conversation and it helps if your in some trouble or in an emergency.

Maybe its a cash thing.

I think it's also an unlimited overtime thing.

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IDFIMH