Can any driver (professional or not) honestly say they haven’t screwed up and been lucky? This guy screwed up but didn’t get lucky…c’est la vie.
I was once on the M62 back in the days when your sat nav was a hand held book with the letters AZ on it and had just looked down to consult the book and looked up again and the traffic had slowed very quickly. I was doomed…but I managed to sling myself onto the hard shoulder and pulled up maybe 50 yards into a queue of traffic, but on the shoulder! Could very easily have caused a lot of carnage for a moment’s lack of concentration.
Born Idle:
Can any driver (professional or not) honestly say they haven’t screwed up and been lucky? This guy screwed up but didn’t get lucky…c’est la vie.
I was once on the M62 back in the days when your sat nav was a hand held book with the letters AZ on it and had just looked down to consult the book and looked up again and the traffic had slowed very quickly. I was doomed…but I managed to sling myself onto the hard shoulder and pulled up maybe 50 yards into a queue of traffic, but on the shoulder! Could very easily have caused a lot of carnage for a moment’s lack of concentration.
We all screw up, as you said. Most of us catch a break and get away with it. Of those who do get lucky - how many think “perhaps that was a bad plan”? Not many judging by some of the comments from the “hang him” brigade…
I’m glad I’m the type of person who, whilst accepting this guy ■■■■■■ up, won’t hang, draw and quarter him because I understand we all make mistakes. What makes me angry is that most of those who preach ‘think of the children’ etc etc have probably been in similar situation (losing concentration for a second, if only once in their driving career) but it is only sheer luck that they haven’t caused similar carnage, yet have the audacity to hang this guy up to dry.
I guess it makes them feel like good citizens.
shugg:
NewLad:
Sounds like the apriciated the fact he represented himself and held his hands up. Hope he’s ok and can get back to doing the job he loves.
NewLad I think you should have your GP check your medication , you have viewed this as if he just scraped the paint on rear under~run bar on the trailer , no wonder HGV drivers are joke , at the very least this driver should loose his licence for at least 2 years then made to re`sit his test . Just think if the other vehicle had be a coach filled with school children !!! .
Nay, hang him, draw him & quarter the beast!!! Then hang his inwards from the Tower of London matey’s Arggghhh.
I’ll be the first to put the boot in if someone’s been naughty. This bloke dropped the ball, all be it big time but it was a mistake, no intent was there to crash the motor, luckily our laws are very weighted toward intent and long may they remain so. I’d go as far as to say perhaps a short ban may have been in order but the bloke nearly broke his back by the sound of it so I doubt he’ll be driving a motor anytime soon.
Like has been said , there are laws to deal with unintentional wounding or manslaughter.
switchlogic:
Maniac. He should be castrated, disemboweled and had his head put on a spike at the crash site to warn others. Can you imagine how bad it would have been if he were driving a school? Carnage.
That would be (little finger to side of mouth) a disaster!
Does anybody know what action his employers took, if any? I guess he is in no fit state to drive now anyway.
Personally I have every sympathy for the driver who basically lives all week on the road and has paid dearly for a moment or two of inattention.
It’s a bit silly to ask ‘what if he was driving a school bus?’ You could just as well ask ‘what if he was driving a Boeing 747?’ But he wasn’t.
Refreshing to see somebody accept personal responsibility for a change although I do think he got off extremely lightly.
On perhaps a different note, - do you get a bigger penalty if you say, had done the same accident but as a result of diddling with your mobile…?
If so, it would make a lot of sense to put your hand up to a lesser charge straight away that didn’t involve “that”…
He’s cocked up, admitted it and been dealt with so we should leave it at that I think.
You hope he has learned from his mistakes and does nothing like it again. Those that don’t learn are the fools!
The other thing that intrigues me is what is a ‘victim surcharge’?
Im a great believer in 2nd chances. Not 3rd chances though.
Victim surcharge is as follows:
The Victim Surcharge, introduced in April 2007, is an ancillary order imposed by a court. Following changes introduced on 1 October 2012, it is payable when an individual is sentenced to a conditional discharge, a fine, a community or a custodial sentence in relation to an offence committed on or after that date. Offenders under the age of 18 as well as adults will be ordered to pay the Victim Surcharge, although at lower levels than adults, to reflect the differences in sentencing principles between adults and juveniles.
Revenue raised from the Victim Surcharge is used to fund victim services through the Victim and Witness General Fund
I hope this helps,
Regards
Edd
dri-diddly-iver:
rearaxle:
“I didn’t know what speed the one in front of me was doing. The wagon was going a lot slower and that’s why I caught up so fast.
rearaxle:
“Walne, who works for Padiham haulage firm Fagan and Whalley, said he had no recollection of the accident.
Does he? Did he or what?? How does he know if the wagon was going a lot slower if he has no recollection 
Presumably from the witness statement of the flatbed driver that says how he was down to about 40mph (or less) due to the gradient when he was hit from behind…
The law holds us accountable for the consequences of our actions, in this case their were no serious consequences as such, an insured lorry got smashed up, the driver got hurt through his own lack of attention, yes he could have ploughed into a coach full of kids blah blah blah, but he never, if he had then yes, he should’ve had a harsher penalty, but in this case justice has been done 
I can see that his straps kept his load in.
I would imaging that the police checked his mobile, tacho etc and he was working to the book.
the magistrates have made the right call with this one, I think…he didn’t invent any excuses about his brakes failing or being stung by a wasp. He made a mistake, and he paid for it.
There’s nothing in the report of the case to suggest that he was reckless, or even intentionally careless. I suspect we all make minor mistakes or have momentary lapses of concentration every time we drive any distance. Luckily they either don’t impact on anyone, or others on the road around us are able to adjust their own speed or position so there is no crash.
No doubt he’ll carry scars and pain through the rest of his life to remind him of his mistake.
My two front teeth are chipped as the result of a motorcycle accident in Morocco. I have been asked sometimes when I will get them fixed. Answer: I won’t. They will stay as they are and be a daily reminder to me that I am mortal.
