Speeding taxi driver avoids jail after lying about driver

Image:castletaxiscanterbury.com

62-year-old Mohammed Malik claimed a mechanic was driving his Toyota Avensis when it was clocked traveling at 37mph in a 30 zone in Washwood Heath Road, Birmingham, in April last year.

Officers then wrote to the mechanic, only to have the letter returned saying he no longer lived at the address given. They also visited the address and found it was a residential property that had never been a garage.

This aroused more suspicion, so police then spoke to the cabbie's firm to get a print out of his journeys on the day in question - they clearly showed Malik had actually picked up a fare at the time, with the person clearly visible on speeding camera footage sitting in the back seat.
Still, Malik insisted it was his mechanic at the wheel.

With the evidence stacking against him, Malik finally admitted the speeding offence and was subsequently charged with perverting the course of justice for lying about who was behind the wheel.
The driver, of Coleshill Road, Ward End, pleaded guilty to the charge and on 31 March he was handed a four month prison sentence - suspended for 18 months - plus 80 hours unpaid work and costs of £400. He was also banned from driving for six months.

PC Steve Jevons said "Malik may have avoided jail but the suspended sentence is hanging over him for the next year-and-a-half and it’s likely he will now be stripped of his taxi licence. With no livelihood, clearly this will have a huge impact on his life and he will have to ask himself if all his lies were worth the risk. We hope this case serves as a warning to others that lying to the police and the authorities is a serious offence and can ultimately land you behind bars."

Taxi Driver Tries to Pin Speeding Offence on Former Employee

Jamie Lyons, a taxi boss attempted to pin a speeding offense on a former employee who owed him money, Dorchester Crown Court heard before finding him guilty of perverting the course of justice

Lyons claimed that it was a former employee was the driver of a Vauxhall Zafira (the car was registered to Lyons) that was caught speeding on Blandford Road in Hamworthy, through a doing 45mhp in a 30mph zone.

Lyons said that Gary Dunlop, had been driving the vehicle on the date in question. However, Mr Dunlop, who worked for Lyons’ for less than a week in May 2013(quit the job after just six days when he struggled to make enough money), was working for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council on the date in question and told the court he only ever drove a Toyota Avensis while working at Streetcars.

Mr Dunlop told the court that after leaving Streetcars he owed Lyons money, due to the cost of getting Mr Dunlop insured to drive the cars, and said his former boss had threatened to ‘break his legs’ and ‘burn his house down’ if he did not pay him money back.

Defending, Timothy Shorter, argued that the only thing Lyons was guilty of was stupidity and carelessness.

It took jurors just over an hour to reach a guilty verdict.Lyons will appear at Bournemouth Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, November 7.

Taxi Driver Jailed After Claiming 'American Friend' Drove Speeding Cab

Taxi driver Nigel Taylor, from Sherbourne Grove in Birmingham, has been jailed for perverting the course of justice after falsely claiming a friend visiting from America was at the wheel when his cab was caught on camera speeding.

Mr Taylor had claimed he was asleep at home when his private hire vehicle was flashed by a speed camera in Pershore Road in August 2012, he said that a friend from Los Angeles had used the car without his permission.

In light of his information the prosecution was discontinued, however the enquiry was passed to West Midlands Police at the camera enforcement unit who probed the claim with Birmingham licensing enforcement officers. Taylor’s driver records from his taxi base showed that he was working at the time of the speeding offence proving that he had invented the story to avoid points ( he already had seven points on his licence).

Taylor was interviewed and admitted driving the vehicle at the time and was charged with perverting the course of justice after refusing a fixed-penalty ticket. He was jailed for four months at Birmingham Crown Court and ordered to pay £580 costs.