IN THE
NEWS...IN THE NEWS..
WEST LOTHIAN TAXI BOSS WITH £1M SCHOOL CONTRACTS LOSES LICENCE FOR TRAFFIC OFFENCES
A taxi boss has been stripped of his taxi licence after racking up a string of traffic offences. Scott McMillan runs Premier Taxis and has a £1million contract with West Lothian Council to transport 600 pupils a day to their classes. The Daily Record reports that Police Scot- land said the 43-year-old was “likely to cause a threat to public safety” after he was caught breaking road laws. Officers found McMillan driving without insurance, using a mobile phone behind the wheel, speeding, not having a tax disc and keeping a vehicle which did not meet insurance requirements. The offences hap- pened between May 2016 and April 2019. McMillan had his taxi licence revoked until 2022 at a hearing in March – despite his claims that the punishment would result in his Livingston-based firm going out of business and 16 people being made unem- ployed.
McMillan – a director of Premier Transport Ltd – went to court to appeal against the decision, claiming his taxi firm had already been affected by the Covid-19 lockdown. He added that the length of the suspen- sion of his licence imposed by the committee was excessive. However, Sheriff Douglas Kinloch refused to overturn the council’s decision following a hearing at Livingston Sheriff Court. He told the court: “This is a case where the appellant amassed seven convictions in a short space of time. A conviction for driv- ing without insurance is generally regarded by the courts as a relatively seri- ous offence. It carries a high number of penalty points so the committee were right to be concerned about it. If taxi drivers ignore road traffic laws and regula- tions, then it can affect passenger safety. “I can’t say that the suspension was such a severe sanction that the committee weren’t entitled to impose it, especially as his taxi
business will be largely unaffected.” McMillan said: “I had seven points on my licence so basically they saw me as unfit to hold a taxi licence. The kids we transport have additional needs. A lot of them are autistic so it’s the same drivers and escorts all the time. They’re going to be affected if I’m not there. I’ve had parents on the phone already worried about what’s going to happen. “I was caught speeding twice. Once at 48mph in a 30mph zone and then at 33mph in a 30mph zone and I got banned for two years. It’s diabolical.” A West Lothian Council spokesman said: “The limited company allows Mr McMillan to operate his business and fulfil the coun- cil contract by engaging appropriately licenced vehicles and drivers, although he cannot now be a driver himself. “As an operator, it is not necessary for Mr McMillan to be licensed as a driver. He can operate his business via third-party drivers.”
24
NOVEMBER 2020
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