A Nigerian taxi driver has lost his appeal over a decision by the Licensing Authority to suspend his driver's licence for six months after he accumulated 11 demerit points by getting four traffic tickets in less than a year.
Delivering an oral judgement at the end of a virtual hearing, yesterday morning, Appellate Judge Mark Mohammed and Maria Wilson dismissed Sunday Odoh's appeal against the authority's decision.
According to the evidence in the case, Odoh, who resides in Caroni, received the four fixed penalty tickets between July 2020 and August, last year.
The first ticket was for plying his car for hire in an area not designated as a taxi stand, while the second and third were for breaching a red light and for blocking the free passage of traffic on a road.
Odoh received three demerit points for each of the tickets and two more for a fourth he received for exceeding the speed limit.
The authority wrote to Odoh and gave him an opportunity to make submissions before it decided whether to suspend his licence based on the demerit points system under the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act.
Under the system, drivers who accumulate between 10 and 14 points during a three year period could be disqualified from holding a driver's permit for six months.
Drivers who accumulate between 14 and 20 points face potential disqualification for one year while those who exceed 20 points over a three year period face disqualification for two years.
Odoh made the representations through his attorney but the authority still went ahead to suspend his licensc leading to the appeal.
Presenting submissions in the appeal, which was the first to be considered by the Appeal Court in which a driver challenged the suspension since the demerit points system was introduced, Odoh's lawyer Roshi Balkaran claimed that the authority did not properly consider his submissions over the impact of the decision on his family.
She claimed that Odoh was the sole breadwinner in his family, which comprises his common-law wife of 14 years, his two children with her and two more she had from a previous relationship.
In his response, attorney Ravindra Nanga, who represented the authority, stated that Odoh's submissions were carefully considered by his client but were rejected as the Transport Commissioner was not satisfied because the driving offences he was ticketed for put the lives of passengers and drivers at risk.
He suggested that the six month period could be used by Odoh to enrol in corrective driving classes and that he could find alternative employment to support his family during that time.
In deciding the case, Justice Mohammed ruled that the court could not interfere with the decision as Odoh failed to prove that the authority made errors in coming to it.
"The Court of Appeal's role is not to rehear the matter and substitute its own views in place of that of the Licensing Authority," he said.
He also rejected Odoh's claim that he would have contested the tickets if he knew that he would still receive demerit points despite paying them.
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse," Justice Mohammed said.
While Justice Mohammed acknowledged the financial difficulties Odoh and his family would face, he noted that such could not invalidate the demerit point system which was intended to improve road safety in T&T.
"On the face of it the traffic violations committed by the appellant demonstrated a pattern of disregard for traffic laws and the safety of fellow road users," he said.
"A driver's licence is an earned privilege. It is self-evidently not an automatic right," he added.
Justice Mohammed also noted that the system was fair as it allows drivers who receive tickets and corresponding demerit points to take corrective action to avoid suspension of their licence.
Under the system, demerit points are cleared if the driver who receives them does not commit any driving offences for two years.
As part of the decision, Justice Mohammed gave Odoh until 2 pm yesterday to surrender his driver's licence to the authority.
He advised that if Odoh did not comply the authority could charge him with an offence that carries a $5,000 fine and a further disqualification for a year.
The authority was also represented by Rachel Theophilus.
