PETROL LICENSE VARIED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 72, 11 May 1945, Page 5

PETROL LICENSE VARIED

TAXI DRIVER'S OFFENCE

FINE OF £5

Observing that defendant's story and explanation did not appear to be good enough 1 Mr E. L. in the Whakatane Magistrate's Court sitting at Whakatane last Tuesd'ay fined Rugby Augustine Howell, taxi driver of the sum of £5 and costs) 25s on a charge of having varied his petrol license without authority at a time when his own vehicle was undergoing repairs. ! Sergeant Fan-ell who prosecutcd stated that some 28 gallons were involved, and had been used lor purposes other than those set out in defendant's license. The dates concerned, were between January 11th and 25th and although defendant to the police had stated that it had been utilised to bring urgent cases to the Whakatane on checking up the police discovered that such trips could not have utily ised anything like the amount involved.

Defendant said that at the time his car was laid up, there was only one other driver left to cope with all the demands of the township. The other man had exhausted his license as a result of the heavier demand. He (the defendant) had been rung up to take urgent annexe cases to hospital and rather than refuse them he had agreed to make over the balance of his> license to the other taxi driver. He considered that under the circumstances a variation of his liecn.se was warranted. |