by News Desk | Jan 27, 2013 | UK News
A minicab driver admitted driving without due care and attention after a gifted student was knocked over suffering “catastrophic” injuries.
Driver Rizwan Ali was travelling at excessive speed when he approached Hyde Park Corner in the early hours.
He could not stop in time, before hitting the student pedestrian Edward Buckley as he walked home, causing massive head injuries and multiple fractures.
He was rushed to the city’s neurological intensive care arriving within five minutes, which doctors said undoubtedly saved his life.
Mr Buckley, now 21, who was studying to be a commercial pilot, was told he would never walk or talk again after the accident.
Married Ali, 29, of Stanningley Road, Armley, was also found guilty of plying for trade in his private hire vehicle and driving without insurance, in a trial yesterday at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of driving without due care and attention and consideration was given to his early guilty plea for sentencing.
Ali denied willingly picking up four university students in his vehicle, in the city centre, with a pre-booked fare.
Ali said in court they had simply got into his car at city centre traffic lights, near Bed nightclub, without permission.
The students argued he had agreed at £7 fare to the Lupton flats in Headingley, after they knocked on his window.
It was on the journey home in the early hours of January 21, last year, that he was unable to stop in his vehicle after driving at an excessive speed along Otley Road, and hit Mr Buckley, who was studying to be a commercial pilot, near Hyde Park Corner.
Prosector Robert Campbell told how it has been impossible to determine the exact speed he had been travelling at, but it had been agreed he had been speeding and was unable to stop before colliding with Edward. Mr Campbell said: “He was travelling too quickly and collided with Mr Buckley, whose injuries were catastrophic. He hesitated for a moment and was hit. The defendant was stopped at the scene by police after various witnesses described seeing Mr Buckley crossing the road at the time, and hesitated for a moment and was hit.
“I understand he is only just recovering 12 months later.”
Ali was given nine penalty points on his driving licence for driving without due care and attention. The other two convictions were taken into consideration but additional points not given. He was ordered to pay a fine of £255, plus £400 costs and a £15 victim surcharge,
Solicitor Shuaib Khalil, defending Ali, said afterwards that the driver had been ‘devastated’ by the incident and what had happened to the victim.
source: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/
by News Desk | Jan 27, 2013 | UK News
Lancaster City Council is asking the public, taxi trade and other interested parties if rules limiting the number of hackney carriages operating within the district should be lifted.
Currently the number of licences issued to hackney taxis – which can pick passengers up without being pre-booked – in the Lancaster district is limited to 109.
This is regularly reviewed to ensure there are sufficient hackney taxis to meet demand, but local authorities elsewhere in the country are currently increasingly removing similar restrictions. Latest available figures show that 92 councils regulate the number of taxi licences, which constitutes around 26.7 per cent of licensing authorities in England and Wales.
A new report from the Law Commission is also recommending that such restrictions should be abolished.
Any relaxation in the rules would be particularly beneficial to wheelchair users. Currently just 15 of the 109 Hackney Carriages in the district are wheelchair accessible and any new licences issued would make this a requirement.
Coun Tony Johnson, chairman of the council’s Licensing Regulatory Committee, said: “The way the Hackney carriage trade is currently regulated in terms of numbers has both benefits and disadvantages.
“The purpose of this consultation is to identify whether the policy should continue in the future or be discontinued.
“The views of the public and the taxi trade will be key in helping us to make a decision that is of most benefit to both the trade and the travelling public.”
• To take part in the consultation email licensing@lancaster.gov.uk, visit www.lancaster.gov.uk/hackney-consultation or write to: Hackney Carriage Consultation, Licensing, Town Hall, Lancaster, LA1 1PJ. The deadline for making representations is 31st March 2013
by News Desk | Jan 27, 2013 | UK News
PUBLIC consultation on two potential changes to policies affecting Wirral taxis is underway.
The first consultation involves the possibility of lifting a restriction on the maximum age of a vehicle being used as a private hire cab.
At present, the policy is that the Council will not licence a vehicle more than eight years after the date of its first registration, unless it is deemed to be in exceptional condition taking into account mileage, appearance, condition and level of safety features.
Vehicles which are more than six years old already have to apply for their licence to be renewed every six months.
The second consultation is around Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licences and specifically about a policy around changing the vehicle on an existing licence.
At present there is an informal arrangement under which a vehicle may be changed on an existing licence subject to the replacement vehicle being the same age or younger than the vehicle on the existing licence.
The views of the public are needed to formally adopt a policy relating to circumstances when a Hackney Carriage Vehicle Proprietor wishes to change their vehicle.
Both consultations can be accessed online by following the below links:-
Private hire survey – https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KJDPRQC
Hackney survey – https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K9YWLLJ
source: http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/
by News Desk | Jan 27, 2013 | UK News
MORE taxi bays are to be provided at Canterbury West station as part of a project to revamp the forecourt.
Eight bays will be provided instead of six, and the road through the new forecourt will be wider than initially planned.
The changes – agreed by Network Rail and train firm Southeastern after a formal request from city council leader John Gilbey – mean taxis should not block the route for cars dropping off or picking up passengers.
Councillor Peter Vickery-Jones, city council executive member for transport, said: “Taxi drivers provide an essential service at Canterbury West railway station, and we’ve always been conscious of their needs, and the needs of train passengers.
“We were pleased to receive a positive and pragmatic response. The design amendments will make a significant difference, and we will continue to monitor the situation.”
He thanked resident Jeremy Baker for raising concerns with the council.
source: http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/
Recent Comments