October 4, 2007
Cabbie loses licence appeal
A cabbie who had his private hire licence revoked after he committed a series of speeding offences has lost his appeal against the decision.
Father-of-three Qamar Zaman, of Canterbury Avenue, Bradford, had his licence taken off him in May, and the ruling was upheld by the magistrates in July.
The 37-year-old hoped to get the decision overturned at Bradford Crown Court but Judge Peter Benson and two magistrates concluded that that Zaman had persistently failed to observe the road traffic laws.
Zaman was first convicted of a speeding offence in 1997 and since then he had also picked up penalty points on his driving licence for failing to comply with a red light and four further speeding matters.
Prosecutor Louise Azmi told the court that in January 2002 Zaman was sent a warning letter by the Council and he had also been made the subject of six-month probationary licences on three occasions.
It was argued on Zaman's behalf that there was a gap of about four years between some of the offences and he did not have passengers in his vehicle when he was caught speeding.
The court heard that Zaman was the only wage-earner in the household, and Judge Benson noted that he was a hard-working cabbie. But he added: "We are also quite satisfied that he persistently fails to observe the road traffic laws.
"The last two convictions involve speeding on Thornton Road, which is an area he should know well and which he should know is heavily decorated with speed cameras. We think that exhibits a careless attitude towards the road traffic laws which is not compatible with his activities as a taxi driver."
Zaman was ordered to pay £200 towards the costs of his appeal hearing.
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