Taxi Driver Wins Case After Being Taken To Court For Doing 5mph In Snow
30th July 2009
A taxi driver who was taken to court for driving slowly during the heaviest snowfall in 18 years has branded the case a waste of taxpayers' cash.
It took just one hour to throw out the case against Angelos Tsakanikas after police claims that he was staging a mini-protest over taxi-rank problems and trying to "bring the city to a halt" were dismissed.
With snow piled by the roadside, freezing temperatures and gritters out in force, Mr Tsakanikas thought he was driving responsibly when he dropped his speed to 5mph along Sidney Street on the evening of February 2.
But the 48-year-old driver found himself before Cambridge magistrates yesterday, where he faced charges of "driving without reasonable consideration" to other road users.
Police believed he was staging a go-slow protest against a crackdown on illegally parked taxis, during which some drivers threatened to blockade the city's roads.
The case was brought despite the fact that on the day of the arrest there had been several crashes, 120 flights cancelled at Stansted Airport, delayed trains and the closure of dozens of schools.
A police spokeswoman had told the News during the February 2 snowfall:
"It is important that motorists drive to the conditions of the roads and allow enough time for their journey."
The case was dismissed after just an hour when prosecutors failed to prove anyone had been inconvenienced by his driving.
It followed the testimony of two bus drivers, Neale Greaves and Gillian McCrae, on behalf of the prosecution, who said they had not been delayed by Mr Tsakanikas's crawl through the busy pedestrian area.
Speaking after his acquittal, dad-of- two Mr Tsakanikas, of Arbury Road, Cambridge, said: "This case was a ridiculous waste of taxpayers' money.
"It was dark, snowy and heavy rain was falling, so I decided to drive at a sensible speed down Sidney Street.
"It is a very busy place, with lots of people crossing the road, and I think all cars should drive cautiously down there. "It has been a very stressful time for me as I could have lost my job and I have been taking prescription drugs because I haven't been able to sleep.
I'm glad it's all over."
He spent £1,500 fighting the case.
Robert Soanes, chairman of Cambridge Driving Association, said he believed common sense had prevailed.
He said: "Angelos is a professional driver and was taking into account the road conditions.
"The roads had not been gritted for four hours before he drove and temperatures had dropped to nearly freezing.
"He was right to drive cautiously on a wet and icy road. I'm very relieved the court has found in his favour."
The court was shown CCTV images of Mr Tsakanikas's taxi heading along Sidney Street after he was asked to move off from the St Andrew's Street taxi rank, by Pc Steve Hinks.
Drivers parking at the end of the rank, on double yellow lines, had been causing police concern after residents complained.
Pc Hinks told the court: "The taxi was moving off very slowly at about 5mph.
I believe he was being inconsiderate.
"I felt it was a mini-protest to be moved off and there was a huge queue of traffic behind him. I thought it was bringing the city to a halt."
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said the case had been reviewed by a lawyer, who said it was "in the public interest" to prosecute.
However, the CPS refused to release footage of the incident to the News to let readers decide for themselves about Mr Tsakanikas's driving.
Source; Cambridge News Online - cambridge-news.co.uk
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