TAXI FOCUS
colleagues when he was hit by a car. Driving conditions were bad with heavy rain and thick fog making for poor visibility while there was also no footpath or street lighting in the area. The car which hit Dr Lawlor failed to stop. He was discovered by a passing motorist, emergency services were alerted but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Gardaí put a cordon of checkpoints in place and at around 6am, they stopped McSweeney, who had left the collision scene but had returned to the area when he brought a fare to Cork Airport. Det Garda Norris said McSweeney’s car was badly damaged with a cracked windscreen and broken light while the wing mirror was also hanging off and he was evasive when he was asked how his vehicle had sustained the damage. He initially said he had struck an animal but when asked if he had struck a pedestrian, he admitted he had and was arrested. During interview he made full admissions about leaving the scene. Dr Lawlor’s widow told how her family’s life were changed irrevocably when her husband was killed. The Judge said he didn’t accept the defendant’s claim that he panicked as he went on to collect another fare after hitting Dr Lawlor, and when he removed the panic element, all that was left was callousness. He said what McSweeney had done in driving off after hitting Dr Lawlor was “fundamentally wrong” and the court had to mark the seriousness of the offence of leaving the scene with a custodial sentence. He sentenced McSweeney to five years in jail but suspended the final year in light of his guilty plea, previous good record and remorse as well as his age.
those affected also applied for ICO-COVI loans, which are 80% guaranteed by the State, but they’ve been useless because there’s almost zero activity,” said Taxis-PIMEM. “Many of the drivers applied for ICO loans while waiting for the start of the summer tourist season to be confirmed, but as this has not been the case, it has generated even more stagnation in liquidity levels.” The President of Taxis-CAEB, Antoni Bauzá says activity has plummeted by more than 80% because of the pandemic, leaving the taxi community in a very precarious position. “A year ago a taxi licence cost around 270,000 euros and now it’s about 160,000 euros. That depreciation has prompted some drivers to sell their licences before the price slumps even further,” said Bauzá. “It’s a very difficult situation, especially during the winter months with no tourists and very negative forecasts for the start of the season in the short and medium term.” “The depreciation of a taxi licence really affects those who are self-employed who want to sell their licence in order to retire or start another business,” adds Moreagues. “Any downward variation in the price of a licence has a negative economic impact, so it’s a very delicate situation at the moment.”
from South Africa
FIVE INJURED AFTER GIRAFFE HIT BY TAXI FALLS ONTO GAME RESERVE VEHICLE
from Majorca
TAXI DRIVERS IN MAJORCA SELLING THEIR LICENCES TO PAY DEBTS
Taxi drivers in Majorca are selling their Municipal Licences to pay bank debts incurred in the last year. According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, the President of the Autonomous Taxi Association of Majorca, Biel Moragues, says the situation has become a lot worse in recent months. “Turnover has fallen alarmingly and taxi drivers can’t keep up with the payments on their bank loans,” he said. More than 50 taxi drivers are affected and that number will increase if we don’t have a normal tourist season.” Moragues claims that “despite the guarantees of ISBA, the banks won’t give the taxi drivers more time to pay, so to avoid problems and embargoes they’ve put their taxi licences up for sale.” “Despite the loans granted by financial institutions, many of
MARCH 2021
A minibus taxi has hit a giraffe in the Kruger National Park (KNP), Low- velder reports. The animal then fell onto a rental vehicle, injuring two foreign tourists. According to a spokesperson for the KNP, the taxi driver could not avoid the giraffe which was crossing the road and struck the animal, killing it on impact. The animal fell onto the rented bakkie, crushing the roof of the vehicle and critically injuring the elderly Swedish driver. Both Swedish nationals were flown by helicopter to Mediclinic Nelspruit. The front of the taxi bore the brunt of the collision, with heavy damage. The matter will now be investigated to determine if negligence on the part of either of the drivers contributed to the accident.
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