A CABBIE banned from the roads for a year after ferrying passengers around in an uninsured car today said: “An honest mistake has ruined my life”.
Michael Barron made 31 journeys while his car was uninsured for two and a half days in February.
But the dad-of-two claims he simply forgot to renew his papers when they ran out, and feels he’s been “hammered” by the court.
Mr Barron, who lives with wife Karin, 33, a nurse, and children Michael, 11, and Courtney, nine, in Sutton Way, South Shields, said: “I’ve lost everything because of an honest mistake.
“I’m a law-abiding tax-payer who needs to provide for my family, and they’ve taken everything away from me for two and a half days.”
He added: “I’ve never been in trouble in my life.
“If I had known I wouldn’t have risked it, I would have taken the weekend off. To ban me for a year is completely over the top.”
Mr Barron has launched an appeal against the magistrates’ decision to disqualify him from driving for 12 months. “What am I supposed to do for work? I’m a driver by trade,” he added.
Officers from South Tyneside Council’s licensing section discovered the offence after receiving a cover note from his insurers.
They realised that his insurance had expired at one minute before midnight on February 20, and was not renewed until February 23.
The 34-year-old had continued to work during that period.
Barron appeared before South Tyneside magistrates last week, where he pleaded guilty to two charges of driving his Hackney carriage vehicle without insurance.
He added: “I accept I made a mistake, and I expected to get punished, but to take away someone’s livelihood like that is shocking.
“I’ll struggle to get another job the way things are at the moment. I’ll have to rely on my wife to pay the bills, which isn’t fair.”
He was given six penalty points for each offence, fined £115 and ordered to pay £100 in costs, as well as a £15 victim surcharge.