FIT AND PROPER


GREENOCK CABBIE BANNED AFTER BLUNDER LEAVES COUPLE WITH FRACTURED STERNUMS


A veteran Greenock cabbie has been handed an 18-month driving ban and an electronic tag after a crash left a husband and wife with fractured sternums.


John Quinn, 61, caused the collision on December 12, 2024, when he failed to give way at a junction on Cartsburn Street, smashing his vehicle into a Renault Captur on Ingleston St. The impact forced the female driver of the Captur to lose control and crash into a stone wall at Dunns MoT Testing Centre. Both she and her husband suffered facial injuries from the deploying airbags and were


rushed to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. In addition to a fractured sternum, the female driver suffered four broken ribs and two head wounds requiring ten stitches, spending two days in a high dependency unit where she needed oxygen to inflate her lungs. Her husband also suffered a fractured sternum, while Quinn himself required stitches to a head wound.


Quinn, who pleaded guilty to


causing serious injury by careless driving, had his driving ban reduced from 24 months to 18 months due to his early guilty plea. Defence solicitor Anthony Boland


told Greenock Sheriff Court that Quinn had not driven since the crash and noted his client “has been a taxi driver for 16 years without any blemish on his driving record.”


Boland described the incident as a “momentary lapse in con- centration” but acknowledged “it led to serious consequences.” Sheriff James Varney accepted that while the harm caused was severe, Quinn’s culpability was low. Alongside the driving ban, the Sheriff ordered Quinn to wear an electronic tag and remain at home during specified hours for 24 weeks.


HEREFORDSHIRE SCHOOL CABBIE SUSPENDED OVER UNROADWORTHY VEHICLE CONCERNS


A Herefordshire driver contracted to transport a child with special educational needs has been suspended with immediate effect following serious allegations that their vehicle was completely un- roadworthy. A local taxi driver, speaking anony- mously, raised alarms about the council's home-to-school trans- port contracts, specifically high- lighting a vehicle serving Westfield Special School in Leominster. The whistleblower claimed the vehicle was unlicensed as a taxi, uninsured, and had failed its MoT test. In response to the allegations, a Herefordshire Council spokes- person emphasised that the safety and well-being of children


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on school transport “is our highest priority” and stated that the local authority takes any concerns about vehicles, drivers, or operators “extremely seriously.” The council acted immediately once the issues were flagged. “In this case, concerns were brought to the council's attention and immediate action was taken on the same day,” the spokesperson said. “The driver was suspended from carrying out council-funded school transport work and the vehicle was withdrawn from service pending further enquiries,” while alternative travel arrangements were


quickly


arranged for the student. The incident comes amidst rising


costs and administrative changes for the local authority. In the year ending this March, the council spent approximately £15 million on school transport - an 18 per cent increase from the previous year - with taxis making up half of that total spending. To combat these issues and tighten control, the spokesperson noted that the council has introduced an in-house school transport service through Hoople. The council stated that this new system “provides greater oversight of vehicle standards, driver training, and safeguarding requirements, helping to ensure safe, reliable transport for children and young people across Herefordshire.”


AUGUST 2026 PHTM


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