by Wendy Miller

A CABBIE caught using a mobile phone while driving on the day a new crackdown was launched has been let off the hook.

The black hackney driver owned up to bosses the morning after the Evening Times photographed him driving through Glasgow city centre on the phone.

But Glasgow Taxis chairman Adrian Higgins said the driver was "very upset at his own stupidity" and decided not to take disciplinary action - unless he is caught again.

We photographed the driver travelling along West George Street with one hand on the steering wheel and another on his phone on Tuesday last week - the day the fine for the offence doubled.

Had he been caught by police the driver would have received a £60 fine and three penalty points.

Mr Higgins said the driver had a clean licence and had been in the job for at least a decade.

He added: "He phoned me the morning after the story ran. We had him in for a chat and he's aware of the seriousness of this.

"But we're not taking any action against him at this stage because I am a big believer in the value of re-education and I am certain he won't make the same mistake twice."

Glasgow Taxis pledged to investigate any driver caught using a mobile while behind the wheel - and said in the most serious cases the driver would lose his licence.

Mr Higgins said the incident we caught on camera happened after a passenger passed her mobile phone to the driver briefly - so her sister could give him directions.

He said: "Taxi driving is a hard job. So many people get into taxis and don't even know where it is they are going.

"In this case the woman was Asian and unsure of the directions, so she phoned her sister and thought she would be able to explain it better. She passed the phone to the driver and that's when his picture was taken."

Police are determined to crack down on the misuse of mobiles and are launching a nationwide campaign to catch people flouting the law.

Recent Department for Transport figures show, while more than 90% of people agree with the mobiles ban, around 20% of drivers admit to breaking it.

Every day 500,000 motorists use a hand-held phone while driving and research shows they are four times more likely to crash.

The maximum fine for bus, lorry or van drivers will be £2500.

The worst offenders, such as those who cause an accident, could also be banned, but the sentences will be on a "case by case" basis.
 
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