- Williams’ License Denied
- Olympic Dream Jeopardized
- Driving Suspension Imposed
Williams’ application was denied, and she was informed that the “bar for an exceptional hardship application is quite high”; she already had 11 points on her licence. This follows a separate incident from earlier this year in which Williams levelled racial allegations against police during a stop and search.
Although British sprinter Bianca Williams informed a court that her inability to drive jeopardizes her “dream” of competing in next year’s Olympics, she has been banned from doing so.
Between April and June 2023, the 29-year-old failed to identify a person suspected of committing an offence. This happened while operating a Tesla Model 3 on three occasions.
The athlete, who applied an effort to retain her licence, claimed that her inability to drive to training would be “hugely inconvenient.”
However, the Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court in south London dismissed her assertion that she could not utilize public transport. The court imposed a six-month driving suspension.
Personal and Professional Struggles
Williams, who had previously entered a plea of guilty to three counts of neglecting to identify a driver to the police, informed the court that she was not operating the Tesla during the purported offences.
As a representative, she said she was a full-time athlete and tennis coach at night.
The sprinter, who resides with her companion in the Maida Vale neighbourhood of west London, described using public transport to reach the central London athletics track, where she trains, as “massively inconvenient,” and getting her tennis coaching sessions in north London without a car as “extremely difficult.”
Williams testified in court that she drops off her three-year-old child at a nursery every morning before training. She said losing her licence would “ruin my chance of competing in the Olympics next year.”
She stated, “I acknowledge that this is entirely my fault; I should not have relied on someone else to complete the form.”
“Getting from nursery to training is difficult.” My income would decrease due to my inability to conduct coaching sessions.
“Licence deprivation would be abhorrent.” “Potentially, I would be unemployed and have no income.”
Williams, who had 11 points on her licence then, stated that her Amazon delivery driver companion, Ricardo Dos Santos, could not always assist her with transportation due to his training.
David Matthews, chair of the court, denied her application because “the bar is extremely high for an exceptional hardship application.” “Other modes of transportation exist.”
Williams was fined £276, fined £110, told to pay £85 in costs, and banned from driving for six months. An additional 18 points were affixed to her licence, bringing the cumulative to 29.
Two Metropolitan Police officers were fired in October for stopping and searching Williams and her friend in 2020.
The black couple asserted that they were subjected to racial profiling.
Officers pursued Dos Santos in their police carrier due to the “suspicious” and “appalling” nature of his driving. Police misconduct hearing testimony showed they were doing their jobs when they stopped and searched.
The panel, however, determined that the two terminated officers had fabricated instances of detecting cannabis.
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