Taxi driver loses business over 'split second decision' to take £2.30 fare

A taxi driver who took pity on two pedestrians who flagged him down in the pouring rain ended up losing his licence and having to sell his business when they turned out to be undercover police officers. The sting, part of an operation to catch rogue private hire drivers operating in Oldham, led to a court ordeal lasting more than a year for Dennis Street. The 53-year-old father-of-three was left £7,000 out of pocket due to fines, legal fees and a rise in his insurance premium but eventually won his appeal against the decision and has furiously criticised police tactics. "I felt so, so stupid for making that mistake by picking them up, but those PCSOs in effect forced that on me while they should have been out there trying to help catch real criminals," he said.

"I wouldn't have picked them up if one of them hadn't been standing in the middle of the road waving his arms around. I had to stop for him and it was entrapment, plain and simple.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/12181819/Taxi-driver-loses-business-over-split-second-decision-to-take-2.30-fare.html

That definitely sounds like entrapment. If someone is there waving their arms in the street, of course he's going to stop. I guess if he hadn't charged them anything, he wouldn't have been accused.

The police need to compensate him, and train their entrapment officers to behave properly.

I agree Rags and glad he won an appeal

Completely wrong on every level

It was very wrong. They're supposed to be finding people who are deliberately picking up passengers without a booking, not playing on someone's good nature and stitching them up.

On the other hand, this rule has to be enforced to ensure safety of those who do flag down cabs in the street.  Only black cabs are allowed to do this, and this is because they are all registered and insured and monitored, and thereby traceable.  A rogue taxi driver could pick up women and rape or murder them and that's happened in the past.   So, although this guy was genuine and with a good heart, he might have been the complete opposite.

HoratioTarr wrote:On the other hand, this rule has to be enforced to ensure safety of those who do flag down cabs in the street.  Only black cabs are allowed to do this, and this is because they are all registered and insured and monitored, and thereby traceable.  A rogue taxi driver could pick up women and rape or murder them and that's happened in the past.   So, although this guy was genuine and with a good heart, he might have been the complete opposite.

Yes, but they way they stopped him was out of order. It sounds like they deliberately went out in the rain without coats and waved their arms to make it look like they were really suffering.