The father of a cyclist who died in a ‘car-dooring’ incident last July has slammed the government for trivialising the offence after a Leicester taxi driver was fined £955 for his son’s death.
Sam Boulton, a school teacher, was cycling past Leicester train station on July 27, 2016, when passenger Mandy Chapple opened the car door which hit Mr Boulton and knocked him into the path of a Citroen van; he was taken to hospital but died later that day.
Car-dooring is an offence but is only punishable up to £1000. Both the person who is operating the vehicle and the person who opens the door can both be charged.
Ms Chapple pleaded guilty in court in March and was fined £150, butdriver Farook Bhikhu pleaded not guilty.
At Loughborough Magistrates Court on Tuesday (June 5), though, the taxi driver was convicted of the crime and given a £955 fine.
£625 goes towards court costs, £300 for the offence and £30 for victim surcharge. He will pay the money in £20 weekly instalments.
Jeff Boulton, Sam’s father, said. “It’s heartbreaking that an offence which has ended a life and caused untold trauma for my family be treated so lightly under current legislation.
“Car-dooring must be taken more seriously, and the only way to do that is to change the law. Only then will we see people taking the time to think before they act.
“Until we have an appropriate offence in law, I call on the government to start investigating how they can better educate and train drivers about the dangers of car-dooring and the techniques that can prevent it from happening.”
Cycling UK – formerly the CTC – has also called on the government to introduce tougher penalties and better educate people.
“How many Sam Boultons have to die before the government takes note, and stops treating avoidable deaths as ‘accidents’?
“A maximum £1,000 fine is derisory, and trivialises these preventable tragedies,” Duncan Dollimore, the organisation’s road safety and legal campaigns offer said.
“Cycling UK wants to see the government introduce a new offence of causing serious injury or death by car-dooring, with tougher penalties. It is not right or just that tragic cases, such as Sam’s, see inadequate penalties handed down.
“Tougher penalties, including the option of custodial sentencing, should be an option for the court in life-changing or fatal cases, which in turn would hopefully encourage the police and CPS to prosecute.”
http://bit.ly/2syeCu4
----------------------------------------
MANCHESTER ONE LOVE
A taxi driver confronted a warden who was giving out parking tickets outside the One Love Manchester tribute concert, in aid of victims' families of the terror attack.
Robbie Aden was one of the many cabbies who rescued people from the terror-hit concert last month and gave people free lifts to the One Love Manchester gig at Old Trafford Cricket Ground on Sunday night.
But while the drivers were waiting outside the concert so that they could escort people home again for free - they noticed parking wardens handing out tickets to those attending the benefit event, the Liverpool Echo reports.
In the video - which has been viewed nearly 30,000 times on Facebook - scouser Robbie can be heard telling a parking warden - who is wearing Let’s Stand Together Manchester stickers - he is “not human”.
He said: “This is not doing a job, there is doing a job and having compassion - this isn’t having compassion.”
He added: “You are giving out tickets to people who were terrified to come here. People died down the road a couple of weeks ago and you are giving them tickets - you are not human.”
Robbie said: “The police had actually told us to park there, around the back of the ground while we waited to take people home again.
“We couldn’t believe it when they started ticketing people’s cars - and neither could the local residents living there who were also having a go at them.
----------------------------------
A taxi driver took Dundee City Council to court over claims that officials are discriminating against his disability.
Muhammed Azhar has been driving taxis in Dundee for more than seven years but suffers from a chronic back problem as a result of arthritis in his lower spine — which he says classes him as disabled.
Mr Azhar says his pain is exacerbated by the posture he has to adopt when driving a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV).
Through the council he had requested a licence to instead drive a standard saloon car to help his condition.
But he claimed the council had refused his request in order to maintain a policy of keeping 60% of Dundee’s fleet of taxis operating as WAVs.
Mr Azhar took the council to court and Sheriff George Way found in his favour, insisting the council reconsiders the evidence and its obligations under the Equality Act.
Mr Azhar declined to comment but his solicitor Ken Glass claims the council has become “fixated” on its policy and has failed in its responsibility to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person.
He told the Tele: “Frankly, it was a surprising decision not to grant Mr Azhar’s request, especially as it would be less than 0.2% of a switch in the balance of WAV vehicles.
“The council can apply its policy but must not do so in an irrational or unfair way.”
The council told the court that Mr Azhar’s application was not refused because of his disability but in order to maintain its WAV policy.
The local authority said any change to that would set a precedent.
But Mr Glass denied that was a valid argument. He said: “Each case must be viewed on its own merit.”
A council spokesman said: “We are currently studying the court’s decision.”
No comments:
Post a Comment