Cab driver who struck pedestrian while trying to beat red light keeps licence

An Edinburgh cab driver who hit a pedestrian with his taxi while trying to beat a red signal has been allowed to keep his licence.

Councillors heard at a licensing meeting on Monday that Adel Amrouche struck a young man on St John’s Road in Corstorphine in March 2024 while he was crossing with the green man.

The collision saw the cab’s wing mirror strike the man’s arm and fly off the cab, with him landing on the ground and suffering a fracture in his foot, plus grazing to his leg.

A police report heard by councillors said Mr Amrouche had crossed a red traffic signal when he hit the man, and witnesses reported the cabbie thought the victim was to blame.

It added he pleaded guilty to careless and inconsiderate driving at a hearing on September 30 of this year over the collision, and received five penalty points on his licence.

His solicitor, Jonny Nisbet, said the incident was ‘unfortunate’, and a one-off occurrence during his client’s over 20 years driving a cab in the Capital.

The incident came up as the taxi driver was trying to renew his licence, with Police Scotland flagging it when they became aware of his application.

Mr Nisbet said Mr Amrouche, who was on the clock at the time, did not have a clear view of the crossing due to a bus in the left lane.

It was unclear whether the driver was carrying a fare when he struck the pedestrian.

After the collision, the report said Mr Amrouche stopped to pick up pieces of his vehicle, and then exchanged his details with the victim’s father.

Mr Nisbet said his client had thought he could ‘get through’ the light at the crossing when the incident took place.

He added that he believed the victim was unharmed, and said he had seen a video recorded by Mr Amrouche which showed the young man standing upright.

He told the committee: “He can’t recall going through a red light. And certainly not deliberately.

“But he will admit that he thought he could make it through the light. The bus obscured his view somewhat. He would accept that this was poor judgement on his part.”

Conservative councillor Neil Cuthbert quizzed Mr Nisbet on whether the cabbie’s driving had breached the highway code.

He asked: “He thought he could get through the lights. Are you saying he saw the amber lights but chose not to stop?”

Mr Nisbet replied that if his client had proceeded through an amber light on seeing it, it would not have been an issue.

Cllr Cuthbert then said the highway code required drivers to stop before an amber light unless it was unsafe to do so.

Mr Nisbet kept to his earlier remarks Mr Amrouche had experienced a lapse in judgement, and did not recall passing a red signal.

The meeting was punctuated by moments of confusion among officials and participants, including by the police inspector who presented the report to the committee.

In reading out the report, he said that Police Scotland had put out an appeal for information about the driver of the cab after the incident in hopes of identifying the driver.

But he later said that he had confused Mr Amrouche’s case with a ‘very similar’ one, and that no such appeal took place.

Councillors elected to renew his licence, though asked that a written warning be placed on his file due to the incident.

Cllr Mowat also noted that Mr Amrouche was scheduled to go through a refresher training course in January.