A CCTV camera has revealed the moment taxi driver Mohammed Javed mowed into passenger Huw Lloyd, after a dispute over an £8 fare.
The taxi carried him 30 metres before leaving him with head injuries and a fractured hand in the middle of the road.
The court heard how Javed "used his taxi as a weapon" after a quarrel broke out at 3am over the price of a short journey across Bristol. Lloyd and his friend Polly Nicalaous refused to pay the £8 shown on the meter as they had asked Javed to stop when it reached £6.
Eric Waley, prosecuting, said: "Javed got out of his taxi, seemed to put his arm out to stop them leaving and is seen to throw a punch at Mr Lloyd who seems to block it."
Lloyd, angered then went to take picture of Javed's number plate which seemed to further aggravate Javed. Waley described the driver's actions as seen on the CCTV footage.
"He started the engine and jolted the car forward on a couple of occasions causing Mr Lloyd to put his hands on the bonnet.
"Then a black cloud of dust can be seen from the wheels spinning where he clearly has his foot down on the accelerator. He drove into Mr Lloyd causing him to go onto the bonnet and when he fell off he hit his head on the floor."
Pleading guilty to dangerous driving and assault causing actual bodily harm, Javed was sentenced to six months in prison and a 2 year driving ban.
Summarising the episode, Recorder Simon Foster said: "It is in my mind extraordinary that there was not more injuries caused. They could have been horrendous."