Taxi driver loses licence after knocking down pedestrian outside Temple Meads
The cabbie was found guilty in court of driving without due care and attention and received six penalty points
A taxi driver has lost his licence after being convicted of knocking down a pedestrian outside Bristol Temple Meads.
The cabbie, who was found guilty in court of driving without due care and attention and received six penalty points, applied to the city council to renew his hackney carriage driver licence.
But councillors refused after finding he had shown “no accountability or remorse for this offence”.
A private meeting of the public safety & protection sub-committee was told there was also an allegation on file from 2016 that he was watching videos on his phone while driving, although he had received no other complaints and had an otherwise clean record.
Recently published minutes of the meeting said: “This incident occurred outside Bristol Temple Meads.
“This is a very busy station with multiple lanes.
“The driver went from the stopping lane to the feeder lane at low speed.
“A woman stepped out into the path of the vehicle.”
The papers said the taxi driver tended to her to make sure she was okay and that she confirmed that she was but later complained to the police.
The cabbie told the panel at City Hall that the woman was in his blind spot when he was making a turn but committee members said a driver would be expected to check mirrors and the blind spot before moving out.
The minutes from the meeting on June 27 said the man represented himself at court and had a poor level of English but that councillors could not “go behind” the conviction or reinvestigate it.
“While a single minor offence is not a bar to granting a licence, this offence is considered major and so the committee is asked to determine the application,” the Bristol City Council papers said.
In refusing the application, members said: “This was a serious offence that involved collision with a pedestrian.
“The driver has shown no accountability or remorse for this offence.”
The points will stay on his licence until 2025.