Private hire driver fined after crash given a “severe warning” but keeps licence

Modathir Abdalla failed to give way at a junction and hit another vehicle, with both drivers then taken to hospital.

He asked Glasgow City Council to renew his licence for three years but licensing chiefs opted to hand out a restricted one-year extension.

They warned Mr Abdalla over his future conduct after hearing information from Police Scotland.

An officer told the committee how Mr Abdalla had been convicted in 2019 after he drove without due care and attention when he failed to give way at a junction and collided with another vehicle.

Both drivers suffered soft tissue injuries and there was “extensive damage” to both vehicles. The applicant was given four penalty points on his licence.

Mr Abdalla claimed the other driver didn’t have their headlights on. He said he slowed down but “went straight out” of the junction.

Cllr David Turner said: “This is Glasgow, it’s dark a lot and it rains a lot. It’s basically down to you paying attention to the road and what is going on.

“You are the one who has got the four points, it was you who caused the collision.”

The driver was given another three points in February 2020 after he stopped his car on a pelican crossing.

He said he had been caught after going into a shop to buy water.

“I was working and I dropped this passenger there because Maryhill Road was too busy and that’s the only chance I get to stop there.

“I drop the customer and I look to my left side and see a shop and I went to him to buy some water and when I park I sit in my car and start drinking, the warden comes and asks me for my licence.”

Cllr Alex Wilson, who chairs the licensing committee, said: “Mr Abdalla, I am going to give you a life lesson here.

“You’re the driver of the vehicle, not the passenger, it’s your livelihood, they’re not getting the points on their licence.”

“If a passenger asks you to stop somewhere, you make sure it is a safe place to stop.”