A former member of the armed services has been handed a community order for assaulting a taxi driver near Knaresborough.
The Stray Ferret reports that Cameron Michael Dumsday pleaded guilty to common assault at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on 12 April.
The court heard he had taken a taxi from outside McDonald’s in Harrogate, along with another man, on Thursday, March 23.
During the journey to Knaresborough, the other passenger began to challenge the way the taxi was being driven, alleging the driver was speeding and cutting across junctions.
When the driver pulled over into a lay-by, the court heard Dumsday, 26, was trying to calm the situation down, but the other passenger called the police.
Dumsday then lost his temper and began making threats towards the driver, who had locked himself in the car. Prosecuting, Alison Whiteley said:
“He was telling the police that if they didn’t get there very soon, he would assault the taxi driver. He said, ‘I’ve been done for assault before and I don’t mind being done again’.”
The driver then decided to try to run away, and the defendant chased him across a busy road three times before police arrived.
Defending, Andrew Tinning said Dumsday had drunk six or seven pints in Harrogate, but it had been an untroubled evening until they became concerned about the way the taxi was being driven on the way home.
Dumsday acknowledged he should not have lost his temper in the way he did, said Mr Tinning, adding: “Fortunately, he doesn’t touch [the taxi driver]. He is here for assault on the basis the taxi driver feared he was going to use violence against him.”
The court heard Dumsday, who had served four years in the army and now worked as a lorry driver, had “a short fuse” and could lose his temper when he felt he needed to defend those around him.
He had two previous convictions for assaulting police officers in 2018, for which he received fines.
Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with the requirement to undertake 20 days on a programme to help him manage his emotions.
He was fined £710 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £114, costs of £85, and compensation of £6.80 for the taxi fare and £100 for the distress caused to the taxi driver.
Source: https://thestrayferret.co.uk/anger-management-order-for-knaresborough-man-who-assaulted-taxi-driver/
Over 250 bids for exemptions from Glasgow’s low emission zone (LEZ) have been submitted by taxi drivers, as the council insists no operators should need to stop working in June.
Enforcement of phase two of the LEZ will begin on June 1 when private cars and taxis will need to meet the required emissions standards — and unions had warned drivers could be forced off the road.
GlasgowLive reports that ‘white lists’ are currently being compiled to identify who is exempt from the rules, such as emergency services.
Councillors agreed last year that ‘time-limited exemptions’ would be available for taxi operators, allowing drivers without funding support to avoid enforcement until June 1, 2024.
Taxi drivers must show they have applied for a temporary exemption and that they either do not have access to a funded retrofit solution or have applied for, or submitted an expression of interest in, securing funding but are waiting for confirmation of funding/work beginning.
A council spokeswoman said: “The public hire taxi exemption application process was published on the LEZ website at the end of March. To date we have received 252 applications.
“Council officers will process applications in a timely manner and take a pragmatic and flexible approach in consideration of applications.
“With the application process now open, no public hire taxi should be unable to continue operating in June as a result of the LEZ, with flexibility up until June 2024 provided to support the transition to compliance.”
There are currently 1,391 public hire taxis operating in Glasgow.
After the application process went live, Unite Glasgow Cab Section said the “key criterion we fought for was an exemption based on simply registering an interest in a retrofit solution”.
“That does not mean that you have to have made an application to retrofit, just that you have shown an interest.”
Preparation for the start of enforcement is ongoing, with installation of cameras and testing still required. There will also be “extensive communications” in the run-up to June 1.
A council official said: “There are national white lists which have to be compiled, so that is, for example, the emergency services will provide relevant white lists to incorporate into our systems.
“We are compiling the taxi white lists but there will be other white lists we must apply as well, such as blue badge holders, coming from a range of different sources, either held centrally by Glasgow City Council or by Transport Scotland.
“As the vehicle goes past [the camera] and their registration number is checked, it’s automatically checked against this white list.”
He said enforcement would be “very much along the same lines” as the process for bus lanes in the city.
“The LEZ will check to make sure the vehicle is compliant with the LEZ emission standards. If it isn’t, that triggers the automatic process and that does undergo a manual review.”
An operator will carry out the review before fines are issued. Fines will be set at £60 for initial entry, reduced to £30 if paid within the first 14 days.
Penalty notices will then double for each subsequent entry into the LEZ, but are capped at £480 for cars and light good vehicles and £960 for buses and HGVs.
The council official said: “When it comes to escalation, we are not proposing to impose the surcharges on the penalty charge until such a time as the person has received that first notification.”
Source: https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/over-250-glasgow-taxi-drivers-26691369
A taxi driver has been prosecuted after council officials caught him smoking in his taxi.
LancsLive reports that Rana Faisal Jameel was brought to court after Chorley Borough Council staff carried out checks on a licensed premises on October 31 last year.
Council officers observed Jameel, who was the driver of a vehicle licensed by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, smoking a cigarette whilst travelling on Eaves Lane, Chorley.
The offence occurred as a licensed vehicle is considered to be a smoke-free place for the purposes of the Health Act 2006, meaning it is an offence to smoke in one. Officer investigated the vehicle and found the driver to be Jameel.
Adele Hayes, Head of Planning and Enforcement at Chorley Council said: “Smoking in a smoke-free place is a serious matter.
"The law is there to protect people when visiting public places, including vehicles and in this case a licensed vehicle that carries members of the public.
"We won’t hesitate to act if we see this sort of offence being committed.”
Jameel, 49, was issued with a fixed penalty notice, which required him to pay a fine.
However, despite attempts to contact Jameel by both Chorley Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council, Jameel did not pay the fine.
Therefore, the taxi driver was prosecuted by Chorley Council via the Single Justice Procedure. Blackburn Council assisted with the case by providing a witness statement.
As Jameel, from Blackburn, failed to respond to the notice, he was found guilty in his absence.
The driver was then fined £220 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £88, plus the council's costs of £150.
Work on a new Cambridgeshire taxi rank is set to begin next week.
CambridgeshireLive reports that Fenland District Council has said the new taxi rank will be created on Station Road in March, on April 19 - weather permitting.
The work will also see a number of new disabled bays put in place.
A Fenland District Council spokesperson said: "Road lining works to create a new permanent taxi rank and disabled bays on Station Road, March, are due to be undertaken on Wednesday, 19 April, subject to weather conditions.
"The bays will be situated adjacent to the former Freezer Centre site and the Coachmakers Arms."
Source: https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/work-new-march-taxi-rank-26690660
An elderly woman was mugged twice by a taxi driver who followed her home from a casino and stole her winnings.
The South Wales Argus reports that the Barry woman in her 70s was targeted by cabbie Yusef Mohamed who tailed her as she drove home from Les Croupiers in Cardiff.
The 38-year-old defendant robbed her in November and then again in January by grabbing the victim’s handbag before fleeing in his taxi, Thomas Stanway, prosecuting said.
The second mugging has left the pensioner scarred for life after she suffered a large cut above her eye when she fell and was dragged across the floor.
Mr Stanway read out her victim impact statement which said of the later offence: “When this happened, I was frightened for my life. I thought he might kill me.
“When he walked away I shouted at him, ‘Why did you do this to me?’
“But I couldn't do anything. He just got in his car and drove off. I was thinking to myself, why did he do this to me? Why did he come back again?
"He knows where I live. I was crying and blood was pouring out of my face.
“My body was shaking. I was bruised and frightened. I was in a serious mess. I could barely see due to the blood in my eyes.
“This man targeted me and followed me back to my own home.”
Among the items stolen was £1,900 cash, her house keys, mobile phone and a camera which had “sentimental” photographs of the victim’s grandchildren and children.
The victim had enjoyed going to Les Croupiers where she would gamble and socialise with her friends, Cardiff Crown Court was told.
Mohamed, from Riverside, Cardiff pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and one of wounding.
Nadeem Majid representing him said his client had no previous convictions and had entered early guilty pleas.
The Recorder of Cardiff Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told Mohamed: “It is clear from the material I have read that until very recently you were nothing other than a respectable, decent, law-abiding citizen.
“You began to develop some financial difficulties and you began then to think that gambling would be the answer, that you could go to a casino and that you could win money and this would solve your financial difficulties.
“It couldn't have been very long before you realised that this was not going to happen and that you were simply going to lose money.
“And this is what happened and you began to develop a gambling habit.
“This has turned you from a decent citizen into a criminal and someone who has committed serious offences – robberies against a vulnerable elderly lady who has suffered significantly because of your actions.”
The defendant was jailed for four years and eight months and made the subject of a ten-year restraining order.
Source: https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23450568.barry-gambler-mugged-taxi-driver-followed-casino/
A former paratrooper turned pet taxi driver is in the running for an Animal Star Award for his work in Wakefield and Pontefract.
Tariq Rehman, 75, from Stechford, had his licence removed by Solihull Council in November last year following a complaint from a passenger.
A taxi firm boss has branded the criminal justice system "broken" after new figures revealed almost a third of offenders in the town reoffended within a year.
Dramatic CCTV footage has captured the moment a hooded figure set a taxi alight on a residential driveway.
A Drongan taxi driver has been convicted of sexually assaulting a female passenger after offering to waive her fare in exchange for sex.
Artur Nowostawski has been jailed for six years and nine months after he attacked a taxi driver earlier this year.
Taxi drivers in the city are facing significant financial losses after a series of electric vehicle charging point failures left them unable to operate.
Police are appealing for help to trace a man who disappeared after getting into a taxi bound for the Otley area of Leeds.
The company’s operator licence includes a condition ordering all drivers to undergo the same training as those from other companies.
Police have stopped a private hire driver who was driving the wrong way on the M1 close to Junction 8 at Hemel Hempstead.
Newcastle City Council is set to introduce strict new measures to tackle illegal and inconsiderate parking near Newcastle International Airport.
West Mercia Police is appealing for information following a rape that took place in Malvern's Priory Park early on Sunday, August 4th.
Glasgow taxi users could be facing a near-10% fare increase and extended night-time charges.
At least 14 cars have been damaged since June, with drivers suffering financial loss and emotional distress.
The attack happened at around 12.45pm on Etruria Vale Road, Stoke, when the victim, driving a Toyota Avensis, was punched in the face by one of the men.
Cumberland Council has taken decisive action to protect public safety by revoking the licence of a taxi driver charged last week with a serious racially aggravated offence.
A historic bridge has been closed indefinitely after an Uber car became wedged on Saturday morning.
A local councillor has sparked a debate on passenger safety after claiming that using locally licensed taxis is safer than hailing an Uber.
A taxi driver was attacked and subjected to racist abuse after two brothers refused to pay him up front.
Christopher Hilling, 64, admitted to engaging a child in sexual activity at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 8 August.