Suspended prison sentence for Sheffield private hire driver who deliberately drove at a cyclist
A Sheffield private hire driver has been handed a suspended prison sentence for driving at a cyclist in a fit of road rage.
Iftikhar Ahmed forced the female cyclist to fall off her bike when he drove his Volkswagen Passat towards her, causing injuries to her wrist and knees.
The court heard how on 26 January 2018, a woman cycling in front of Ahmed indicated that she was about to overtake a bus that had stopped to allow passengers to exit. As reported in the Sheffield Telegraph, during a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, Recorder Keir Monteith told Ahmed: "The taxi you were driving drove forward and blocked her away around the bus. She said that was in spite of the traffic in front of you. "She hit the near side passenger window to talk to you. You opened the window and shouted something aggressive, and she was very frank with the police, and this court, in saying she called you a psycho." As the bus began to move off, the cyclist rode behind. What happened next was described by Mr Monteith as a "moment of madness".
Ahmed, 46, engulfed in a fit of rage, drove straight at the cyclist causing her to fall to the ground. The cyclist stressed in a victim statement that she did not want Ahmed to be sent to prison - but asked for him to be banned from driving. Jeremy Barton, defending, said: "This defendant behaved, and drove, in the most dreadful way. He's lost his license, he's lost his license to drive as a taxi driver. "He has suffered significant stress as a result of his own stupidity. He has suffered, his family have suffered, which he accepts is his own doing."
Ahmed, who was working for local cab firm City Taxis at the time, pleaded guilty to a single count of dangerous driving on the first day of his trial where he was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to complete 280 hours of unpaid work as well as a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement through the Better Drivers programme. Ahmed was also banned from driving for 18 months. Once that period has lapsed he will be required to take an extended driving test if he wishes to hold a full license again.
Image: Source; Pixabay
