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WORLDWIDE from Australia


CRIPPLED AUSTRALIAN TEENAGER LOSES APPEAL AGAINST TAXI DRIVER


A teenager who became a paraplegic when she fell out of a moving taxi whilst attempting to rob the driv- er at knifepoint has lost her appeal bid for dam- ages. On SW’s 15th birthday in November 2015 she and three friends got into a taxi in Sydney but when the driver, Abdus Khaja, pulled over expecting payment for the fare, SW pulled a kitchen knife from her pocket and demanded money. A struggle ensued and SW fell out of the passenger side door and was run over by the rear wheels as Mr Khaja accelerated away. She suffered catastrophic injuries to her spine. Mr Khaja got out of the taxi and ran away screaming for people to call the police, witnesses said. The other three girls got out of the taxi, threw the knife into bushes, and tried to drag SW away with them but couldn’t. They then fled the scene, one of them leaving their mobile phone behind. SW sued Mr Khaja for damages, denying that she had pulled a knife on him and demanded money and alleged instead that he had pushed her out of the moving taxi for no apparent reason. In May 2019 the District court found that SW was not entitled to damages under the Civil Liability Act because she was committing a serious offence that resulted in her injury. SW launched an appeal in the Supreme Court, but in a decision hand- ed down on 14 July, three appeal judges upheld the previous ruling and agreed that Mr Khaja was not liable. They said he owed no duty of care to SW in the circumstances and he had been acting in self- defence when he pushed her away from him during the struggle.


As a result, many more alleged transactions were observed over the course of April and May, bringing a total of 150 counts. The court documents show Mr Habib allegedly followed a pattern of negotiating the type and price of alcohol with his passengers before telling them to wait for him at a certain location while he went to his bar to collect the alcohol and then return to give it to the passenger instructing them to hide it. Mr Habib will appear again in court on August 17.


from Ireland


IRISH DRIVERS UNDER PRESSURE TO SWITCH TO ELECTRIC


AUSTRALIAN DRIVER’S CCTV CATCHES HIM COMMIT 100 ALCOHOL OFFENCES


A publican from Alice Springs has been charged with 150 counts of unauthorised sales of alcohol. He allegedly used his taxi to sell the alcohol from his bar to his passengers multiple times throughout lockdown in April and May. Anthony, also known as Tony, Habib appeared in court over the charges and an alleged breach of bail. Mr Habib’s premises had been closed due to Covid-19 measures in late March but during April and May he illegally sold alcohol from his bar out of the taxi he was driv- ing. Police intercepted passengers in different parts of Alice Springs with bottles of alcohol after they had allegedly purchased them from Mr Habib. Police then arrested Mr Habib and seized two bottles of rum and $150 cash. The alleged offending was captured on various CCTV cameras and also with a police drone. Mr Habib was initially charged with five counts of unauthorised sales of liquor. However in the days following the arrest CCTV footage from Mr Habib’s taxi was also seized by police and subsequently reviewed.


100


The Irish Government is expected to bring pressure on the taxi industry to switch to electric cars away from diesel in line with the end of petrol and diesel car sales by 2030. The Programme for Government, specifi- cally mentions taxis, saying that: “The taxi fleet has a disproportionate impact on air quality and climate emissions in urban centres.” The trade however will be supported throughout “the greening of the fleet” and financial incentives will be provided to switch to both battery-electric vehicles (EVs) as well as plugin- hybrid vehicles. With taxis having much higher mileages than private cars, they are seen as crucial in the fight against climate change, with greater impact being achieved from a smaller number of vehicles switching to electric power. Currently, there are significant financial supports for anyone want- ing to purchase an electric car to use as a taxi. A €10,000 SPSV (Small Public Service Vehicle) grant is available for a new car, which includes a car up to three months old. Second-hand cars can receive a grant of €6,000, for a vehicle up to four years old. If the car is wheelchair accessible, then the maximum grant rises to €12,500 while for plugin-hybrid vehicles there is a maximum €5,000 grant. Meanwhile, there are likely to be penalties and extra costs for those continuing to use petrol or diesel models. However the taxi industry feels that the support would be more beneficial if it focused on the finance. Vinny Kearns, general secre- tary of the Taxi Dispatch Operator’s Representative Association (TDORA), told The Irish Times: “It would be better if taxis could get access to finance for vehicles at zero or very low interest, and that finance could be Government-funded.” There are also significant issues with the EVs that are being passed as fit for taxi service, with Mr Kearns pointing out that the compact Renault Zoe had recently been approved for SPSV use, but the larg- er Tesla Model 3 has not. He said: “The Zoe is not suitable as a taxi. It has very little boot space, and it’s too small for four passengers. So we haven’t got enough choice of vehicles at the moment, and what is an issue, still, is range anxiety. “We definitely need more charging points” added Kearns. “And it would be helpful if, maybe, the ESB could set things up so that taxi operators can charge at public points for the same cost they’d have charging at home.”


AUGUST 2020


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