A PRIVATE hire driver has been refused permission to work in Glasgow after he veered into oncoming traffic, causing a collision which left his passenger in hospital.

Police Scotland objected to Hailmeskel Tadesee’s bid for a licence to operate in the city due to the incident, which happened while he was licensed by South Lanarkshire Council.

Glasgow’s licensing committee heard how Mr Tadesee had been fined £320 and given five points on his licence after he was convicted in November last year.

An officer said the applicant’s “vehicle veered over to the opposite carriageway into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with another vehicle”.

She told councillors that Mr Tadesee had been working as a private hire driver at the time, and had a passenger onboard.

Both vehicles suffered “extensive damage” and the passenger was taken to hospital with a “fractured clavicle”, the officer added.

The other driver also went to hospital with “shoulder and neck pain”, the committee heard.

READ NEXT: Man caught with £3k of cannabis given private hire licence

Mr Tadesee had been granted a licence by South Lanarkshire Council in 2021, but this was suspended last year after the incident. He did not declare the offence on his application to Glasgow City Council.

Glasgow’s committee was split on whether to approve a licence for the driver, with Jill Pidgeon, Labour, and Sean Ferguson, SNP, in favour of granting permission for a restricted period of one year and issuing a warning over his conduct.

Committee chair Alex Wilson, SNP, and Eunis Jassemi, Labour, wanted to refuse the application.

It was rejected on the casting vote of the chair.