TYNESIDE

Are plans to impose tolls on some of Tyneside's roads "ridiculous" or a long-overdue response to a pollution crisis?

The prospect of drivers being hit with new charges has sparked fierce debate, after Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside councils revealed their ideas to improve air quality this week.

There are two competing charging options being considered by the councils : a clean air zone (CAZ) around the centres of Newcastle and Gateshead which high-polluting vehicles could be charged either £12.50 or £50 a day to enter; or a toll of £1.70 for all cars and £3.40 for lorries to cross the Tyne, Swing, and Redheugh bridges.

Additional measures to help meet a Government order to reduce emissions could also involve excluding certain vehicles from parts of the city centre or limiting their access to the Central Motorway.

The Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers Association has been vocal in its opposition to a CAZ that could force taxi drivers to pay £12.50 a day, but has now also branded the idea of a bridges toll "ridiculous".


Association chairman John Hirst added: " £1.70 for any motorist to cross the bridge? You could be on minimum wage, living in Gateshead and working in Newcastle and you would have to find £3.40 a day.

"It's going to be bad for Newcastle. You might think taxi drivers would be in favour of it because it would mean fewer people driving into the city.

"But it is not just about that. We want to be promoting the city and improving the economy, not putting people off coming here.

"This is all happening when other services are being cut back and it is the working class who are going to suffer."

A Newcastle Public Transport Users Group spokesman called for bus passengers not the be "unfairly penalised for using a more efficient and sustainable form of transport".


He added: "We are also pleased to see measures that will offer both a carrot and a stick to help people switch to more sustainable means of travel - a clean air charge will discourage people from driving polluting vehicles into areas of high air pollution at the same time as raising revenue for investment in cheaper, more reliable, and more extensive public transport.

"Any money raised from charges or tolls must therefore be ring-fenced to be spent on improved infrastructure and operations of local public transport services."

A CAZ would result in a surplus of £43m over five years, while the toll system would produce a five-year profit of £17.5m - all of which would be reinvested in highways and public transport improvements, the councils say.

https://bit.ly/2tyIkRs
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 DERBY

A taxi driver has been banned from the roads after he crashed into a tree when he fell asleep with his wife and a young autistic passenger in the car.

Azhar Iqbal, 41, of Tintagel Close, Derby, initially lied to Derby City Council licensing authority, claiming he swerved to avoid a fox.

But he abandoned that explanation after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

Nottingham Crown Court heard Iqbal had been behind the wheel of a Peugeot people carrier on the eastbound carriageway of the A52, close to where it meets junction 25 of the M1, on February 9 last year at around noon.

The car drifted off the road, clipping the near side crash barriers, and ending up in trees on an embankment. It came to rest after hitting a tree.

A husband and wife had been following in their car when they saw the taxi veer to the right of the carriageway and then to the left.

https://bit.ly/2XfJAGH
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A taxi driver from Liverpool who was carrying more than 40kg of heroin worth around £4m in the boot of his car has been jailed. 

Officers stopped 44-year-old Barry Smith on September 4, last year after tracking his Skoda Octavia on the M6 northbound between junctions 13 and 14 at Stafford. 

He was sentenced to 4 years 8 months at Stafford Crown Court. 

Smith, of Keston Walk, Halewood, pulled onto the hard shoulder at 1.20pm and was asked by officers from Central Motorways Policing Group (CMPG) if he had anything illegal in the car. He replied ‘No.’ 

His car was searched and officers found two large sports bags inside the boot.

These contained square light-brown packs. A large amount of cash was also found next to the spare wheel. 

A drugs expert examined the items seized and found each block was 15 to 20cm thick and weighed in at 507 grams. 

The total weight was 40.5kg. Tests proved positive for heroin. Based on typical street deals being £10 for 0.1g of heroin the heroin was valued at just over £4m. 

Detective Constable Neil Johnson, of Staffordshire Police, said: “This is a warning to those who think they can prey on the vulnerable in our communities.

https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/taxi-driver-found-heroin-worth-2562954
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 COALVILLE

A taxi driver who collided with a cyclist and drove off without stopping has been stripped of his licence.

Footage of the shocking incident captured on the headcam of cyclist Dylan May shows the taxi turn into Gutteridge Street, in Coalville, on the wrong side in the early hours of Friday, January 11.


He is then seen to crash into the victim head-on.

It is claimed the taxi driver failed to stop at the scene and initially blamed the cyclist and said Mr May had been in the middle of the road.

He later admitted to being at fault and driving away from the scene after he was shown the helmet camera footage.

Mr May suffered injuries to his right arm, shoulder and elbow and his bike was significantly damaged.

He said: "I still now can't believe somebody would collide with a cyclist and just drive off, especially a so-called professional taxi driver."

https://bit.ly/2SPkvDY