A Bristol taxi driver who faces a court appearance for hitting two pedestrians has been allowed to keep his licence.
BristolLive reports that city councillors decided to renew the cabbie’s hackney carriage driver licence after hearing he was highly respected in the trade, had an unblemished 27-year record and was “sincerely remorseful”.
The accident happened at a blind junction obscured by a wall in Clifton as he attempted to pull out, Bristol City Council’s licensing sub-committee was told.
Recently published minutes of the private meeting at City Hall last month said he had never previously had an incident.
The record of the hearing said: “There was a wall all along Clifton Down Road which limited a view. He stopped at the junction and saw a gap in the traffic and pulled out and on doing so he collided with two pedestrians.
“He would be summoned to court for the offence of driving without due care and attention.”
The driver told the panel that it was a “momentary lapse and he could not justify that loss of concentration”.
The minutes said he was “extremely remorseful” and hoped to do the job for a few more years before retiring. The papers said: “He had helped the trade with a disability awareness course.
“He had not notified the licensing authority immediately as he had been in shock and could not think what to do. He had not seen the pedestrians waiting there and as he waited for a gap in the traffic they had walked around the side of his car.
“He had two passengers in his taxi. The Sub-Committee then heard from his employer who confirmed that the licence holder had worked for him since 2011 and had never had a complaint.
“He had not worked since the incident and it would be a great loss not to get his badge back. He was thought highly of.”
The panel approved the cabbie’s application to renew his licence and decided no action should be taken.
Its decision said: “His unblemished record over 20 years was taken into account. He was sincerely remorseful and had not attempted to excuse the fact that it was his fault.
“The severity of the incident was acknowledged but it was agreed that public safety was not compromised.”
The minutes did not say whether the pedestrians suffered any injuries.
Source: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-cabbie-who-hit-two-9254222
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