Taxi Driver Online

Can't find any official GMP communication about this, but it's on all the news sites, including at least one of the nationals

But it's really just about the video, and that's on the website. In fact there are two videos via this link, which is fast loading and uncluttered.

It's presumably a saloon HC, though, or maybe a PHV with a rooflight.

And presumably not that difficult to trace if it's a local car.

I'd guess he pulled over to look at something, then decided to do a U-turn, but didn't notice the ped. Might have got away with it if he'd stopped - the ped wasn't seriously injured. But obviously a hit-and-run ups the ante considerably...


CCTV shows shocking moment cab drive ploughs into pedestrian in Rochdale

https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2024-0 ... riving-off

certainly looks deliberate but done at slow speed suggesting he was trying to teach them a lesson rather than hurt them. I suspect there was some earlier interaction maybe an attack by the ped on the car ?

but of course deliberately driving into the pedestrian no matter how "carefully" is not what someone who is "fit and proper" would do.

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If I had to put money on it, I'd say non-deliberate. Looks to me like he pulled over to check something, then decided to do a u-turn (not literally, because that wasn't possible), and didn't notice the pedestrian - maybe still looking at his phone, datahead or satnav, or whatever...

He was going quite slowly, and the way he was sweeping round in a circle suggested he was attempting to get turned round as much as possible before having to reverse. I'd guess that if it was deliberate he'd have straightened up a bit before impact, and would have been driving a bit faster.

His trajectory suggests he was trying to get as close as possible to the pavement to complete as much of the u-turn as possible before reversing.

I think his wheels would have straightened up a bit before impact if it had been deliberate.

Another funny thing is that it looks like the number plate and 'taxi' plate has been blanked out in the top video. Watch closely at about 13 seconds, and the number plate appears momentarily, and it looks like there's a long, narrow taxi plate beneath it

The front number plate also looks blanked out when he's driving off at speed.

Not sure why it would be blanked if it wasn't readable, so maybe the driver's ID is known, and they're maybe just seeking witnesses.

The article certainly gives the impression that the driver's ID isn't known, though, so who knows

Screengrabs showing the plates blurred and unblurred. Certainly no chance of reading the plates from that, but who knows what the original version of the video reveals, no doubt using specialist photo enhancement software, or whatever

(Yes, I've got a bit of time to kill today... )