A taxi driver left a passenger with a broken leg after mowing him down in an accident moments after he had complained about being overcharged.
David Diamond turned his taxi around after dropping off customer Glen Haynes and did not see him walk back into the road until it was too late to miss him, Exeter Crown Court was told.
The 28-year-old graduate was moonlighting as a cabbie with his father's Exeter based firm to pay for a teaching training course at Bath University.
He was allowed to keep his licence after a Judge was told he needed it to get to placements at schools around Southern England.
Diamond left passenger Mr Haynes with a head injury and double fracture to his left leg after he was thrown onto the windscreen and catapulted off onto the pavement in Fore Street, Heavitree last October.
Mr Haynes had taken the taxi home with his friend Alex Barrow but they had argued over the fare because Diamond had rounded up £6.70 to £7.00 and they thought he had taken a roundabout route to Heavitree.
The victim had drunk about three pints and three shorts and the driver alleged he was drunk and crossed before the incident.
Diamond, of Wrefords Lane, Exeter, admitted careless driving and was fined £500 with £550 costs by Judge Graham Cottle, who endorsed his licence with three points.
He told him:"The outcome of this case will allow Mr Haynes to move on with his life and pursue the outstanding civil claim for damages, which will probably settle pretty quickly.
"This is a pragmatic solution but I am not sure if it does justice to this case. You have pleaded guilty on the basis you were insufficiently inattentive as you drove your taxi back up Fore Street after dropping Mr Haynes off.
"There had been a row between the two of you about the fare and you had driven down the road and done a u-turn before driving back up the street.
"He was in the street and dressed in dark clothing and you hit him. You accept that was driving below the standard expected of a careful and competent driver. He sustained serious injuries to his head and leg.
"You are 28 and have no record of driving or other offences. You are pursuing your education and were driving a taxi to fund your studies.
"If you were prevented from driving it would prevent you continuing your studies and I am satisfied it would have a devastating effect on your career and your ability to proceed with your postgraduate certificate of education."
Mr Haynes was in court and the Judge asked him if he was happy with the case being dealt with on the basis of careless rather than dangerous driving.
He replied:"I am prepared to accept it because it closes this chapter of my life and it allows me to move on with the civil case.
"I have heard what has been said and I am a bit shocked by it. I did not think it was an offence to be intoxicated, whether you've had one pint or 20. It does not justify what happened."
Mr Gordon Richings, prosecuting, said there had been a dispute about the fare, which had been paid by Mr Haynes' fellow passenger.
He said Diamond turned his VW Passat taxi around and hit Mr Haynes, who stepped out into the road and was wearing dark clothing. He was thrown onto the windscreen and suffered a double fracture of his leg and a head injury.
He said:"The defendant says he did not notice him in the road or thought he would step back and did not swerve or apply the brakes.
"We have accepted this is careless driving on the basis the defendant would not have set out to damage his parents' almost brand new car in an area which he knew was covered by CCTV.
"I have taken the view we cannot prove he drove deliberately at Mr Haynes and that if he had done so this would have been a case of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
"It is not in dispute that the complainant had consumed three or four pints and three or four whiskies."
Miss Emily Pitts, defending, said Diamond has always maintained the contact was accidental.
She said:"He had to get Mr Haynes out of the car. He was a cross and drunk man. He accepts he should have anticipated he may have reacted unpredictably. At the time he was travelling at only 20 mph."
Miss Pitts said the case had caused Diamond to suspend his training to become a maths teacher but he hopes to resume his studies at Bath University.
She said he needs his licence so he can carry on funding his studies through taxi work and can get to teaching placements at Salisbury, Winchester and Croydon.
