‘Not fit’ Cabbie loses bid to regain his licence after wheelchair incident
AFORMER taxi driver whose licence was revoked by Bristol City Council has lost his court appeal to win back his badge.
The council had ruled that Jalil Mohammad was no longer a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a Hackney licence back in September after a passenger suffered a head injury when his wheelchair toppled over inside the taxi.
Mr Mohammad had pushed his customer, Barry Sowden, into the back of his cab but failed to secure the wheelchair with the appropriate restraints and belts, Bristol Magistrates’ Court heard.
During the journey on July 7 last year, the wheelchair toppled backwards and Mr Sowden, who was 76 at the time, suffered the head injury.
Due to the fact he had undergone brain surgery seven months earlier and was on special medication, he had to be taken to hospital for a CT scan.
Mr Sowden, who was a greatgrandfather, has since died, but his death was not connected to the incident involving the taxi.
His wife, Margaret, told the court that she and her husband were left “completely shaken”.
She said they had travelled from north Lincolnshire by train for a grandson’s wedding in Bristol and were joined by their daughter-in-law and granddaughter for the last part of the journey.
The family arrived at Bristol Temple Meads around 2.30pm on Sunday, July 7 and made their way to the taxi queue at the front of the station.
Mrs Sowden told the court that two women were waiting in the queue in front of them when a larger minibusstyle taxi pulled up, driven by Mr Mohammad.
“They told us to go in front and take that taxi as it would be better for the wheelchair,” added Mrs Sowden.
But she claimed the driver was annoyed that she and her family were “jumping the queue” and did not seem “very pleased” at having to take them.
Mr Mohammad told the court he was “happy” to take the four and began to lower the taxi’s ramp.
CCTV footage played in court showed Mrs Sowden waiting at the foot of the ramp with her husband sitting in the wheelchair. Mr Mohammad was seen attempting to push the wheelchair into the taxi, but he had forgotten to lift the safety guard edges and the wheelchair could be seen starting to tip off the ramp.
The wheelchair was caught and prevented from tipping. Mr Mohammad then lifted the safety guards and pushed Mr Sowden into the taxi.
Mrs Sowden told the court that she and her two family members joined her husband in the taxi and the driver said to her to “make sure the brake was on”. She said she had never travelled in a taxi before with a wheelchair so assumed that was all she needed to do.
After dropping off the two relatives at a hotel in Bristol, the taxi driver set off with Mr and Mrs Sowden in the back. He pulled away, then made a U-turn, and at this point the wheelchair tipped over backwards and Mr Sowden hit his head.
The court heard that Mr Mohammad stopped the vehicle immediately and went to check on his two passengers. He and Mrs Sowden lifted the wheelchair and Mr Sowden back into a seated position.
But Mrs Sowden told the court that Mr Mohammad did “nothing to secure the wheelchair” afterwards. He continued on the journey and transported the couple to their hotel without any further incident.
The court heard that the family decided Mr Sowden should be taken to hospital but, as a result, he missed out on a “big family party” where he was due to meet his great-granddaughter for the first time.
There was no permanent injury as a result of the incident and Mr Sowden was released from hospital that night and was able to attend his grandson’s wedding the following day.
But the court heard that he was “completely shaken” by the incident.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Mohammad told the court he was “extremely sorry” for what happened that day.
When asked why he had not secured the wheelchair properly, he said he had mentioned “securing the chair” to Mrs Sowden but that she had “told him not to worry”.
He also said that after the wheelchair had toppled over he had put restraints around the chair for the second leg of the journey, something Mrs Sowden said did not happen.
The court heard how Mr Mohammad had a good reputation for transporting wheelchair users and had a number of character references.
He said the incident was “a mistake” and his solicitor referred to it as an “isolated incident”.
But magistrates decided to uphold the council’s decision to revoke Mr Mohammad’s licence. They said he was “not a credible witness” and the incident was “so serious that we consider him not to be a fit and proper person” to hold a taxi licence.