The decision not to ban from driving a cabbie who hurtled along some of Perthshire’s most notorious roads at speeds of up to 100mph “beggars belief,” safety campaigners have claimed.
Neil Colquhoun escaped with just nine penalty points after being found guilty of careless driving.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how the 52-year-old ignored the pleas of terrified passengers as he drove through villages at speeds of up to 70mph during a late night trip from Perth to Crieff.
Colquhoun, who dreams of finding employment as a bus driver, also hit “95mph or 100mph” while travelling along the infamous Burnbrae straight a road that claimed the lives of five people in a crash three years ago.
Passengers told Perth Sheriff Court of their terror, saying they repeatedly pleaded with their driver to slow down. Despite freezing temperatures, he ignored their requests.
Colquhoun was previously banned from driving for 18 months after he was found guilty of dangerous driving in 2001.
The decision to spare him a disqualification following his latest conviction has outraged campaigners.
Kevin Clinton, head of road safety for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said Colquhoun was “very lucky.”
“This sounds like an appalling piece of driving that put his passengers, and everyone else on the road, at serious risk,” he said. “At those speeds, and in those conditions, his stopping distance would have been much, much longer than normal and a crash could very easily have cost one or more innocent people their lives.
“As a taxi driver, he had an even greater duty of care because his passengers were paying him to provide a service.”
Mr Clinton continued, “He is very lucky not to have been banned.”
Margaret Dekker of the Scottish Campaign against Irresponsible Driving (SCID) was similarly appalled.
“The fact that a taxi driver was behaving like this in the first place is astonishing,” she said. “That he did not lose his licence after pleading guilty beggars belief. The leniency of this sentence is just appalling.
“If a train driver or pilot was in breach of their duty in a similar manner they would be dealt with severely.”
She said Colquhoun’s terrified victims, who faced the intimidating ordeal of appearing in court in a bid to secure his conviction, would be feeling “utterly devastated.”
“His victims were pleading with him to stop and he ignored his responsibilities to them,” she continued. “Allowing him to keep his licence is a real kick in the teeth for them they must feel as if justice has not been done.
“It is an absolutely crazy decision and sends out entirely the wrong kind of message. Apparently he now says he wants to become a bus driver, which is frankly terrifying.”
Sheriff Derek Livingston added a £300 fine to the nine penalty points he handed to Colquhoun. Colquhoun has now been stripped of his taxi operator’s licence.