Driver Leslie Abel was today jailed for 4years after admitting 3 charges of dangerous driving last year. 3 people died from their injuries near Goole last october . It was stated that Abel had travelled with cruise control set at 56mph and stated he had not realised the traffic was slowing down. The accident was a seven vehicle pile-up on he M18slip road of the M62.
This report was in todays Scarborough Evening News . Leslie Abel was sentenced in the Hull Crown Court
Lorry driver jailed for crash that killed Pindar boss
JAILED … Lesie Abel
THE driver of a lorry which crashed into a car and killed a Scarborough man has been jailed for four years.
David Goodridge, 52, a manager who worked for Pindar in Eastfield, Jayne Parkhouse, 36, and her nephew Stephen Parkhouse, 17, both of Bridlington, all died from injuries received in the horrific crash near Goole last October.
Leslie Abel, 55, of Slight Close, Hull, bowed his head and turned pale as he was sentenced after admitting three charges of dangerous driving.
He was watched by two sets of families, still grieving from the seven vehicle pile-up on the M18 slip road of the M62.
Hull Crown Court heard Abel had the cruise control in the lorry he was driving set at 56mph and did not react quickly enough to avoid the vehicles which had slowed down in front of him.
Judge John Reddihough said: “Some people say cruise controls on vehicles like this are a particular problem. Abel knew there were roadworks and in these circumstances it may not have been appropriate to use cruise control.”
Crown barrister Simon Waley said when Abel was asked what happened, he replied “I am not sure. The traffic just stopped.”
He said all he could remember was the dust and devastation.
Abel, dressed in black shirt and black trousers left the talking to his barrister Michael Scholes, who told the court it was not unusual for HGV drivers to use cruise control on a motorway.
He said he did not believe it was an aggravating feature like listening to a radio or watching a DVD. He said the fact was vehicles like his were fitted with cruise controls.
Mr Scholes said: “He is utterly remorseful for the consequences of what happened that day. He is only too aware of the emotional resonance of the affect it has had on others.”
Mr Goodridge was a senior purchasing manager for Scarborough-based printers Pindar. He lived with his family in Laneham-in-Retford, near Lincoln.
He was travelling back from Scarborough when the accident happened.
Speaking outside court, Mrs Jacqueline Goodridge, 50, a healthcare scientist, said: "It has devastated my life and that of David’s family. We will never be the same again.
"The accident has taken away a large amount of my quality of life. I will never recover from it.
"Pindar had been everything he was seeking in an organisation. They were caring and family-orientated, which were the two major values in his life.
“He found them in Pindar and they have been incredible.”
I cannot see why they made a big thing of having the cruise control on in this situation as, IMO, it wouldn’t have any bearing on the outcome as braking would have the same effect whether it was on or off - wouldn’t it 
3 people died
condolences to their families
Rog, I think the judge was refering to the fact that Mr Abel was not watching or reading the traffic conditions in front of him and thought and indeed stated cruise control is not a good thing plus Mr Abel did not react fast enough. It is sad that 3 families of the deceased are affected and of course the Abel family are also affected by all the trauma of waiting for a court case and now losing probably their main wage earner and loved one. His solicitor stated Mr Abel was full of remorse.
My sympathies go to all concerned even Mr Abel.
And the quote of the month is …It only takes a moments lapse of concentration……and thats what happened.
To state he didnt realise the traffic was slowing down, was an idiotic statement from an idiotic driver, and he deserves all he got.
Danneke:
Rog, I think the judge was refering to the fact that Mr Abel was not watching or reading the traffic conditions in front of him and thought and indeed stated cruise control is not a good thing plus Mr Abel did not react fast enough. It is sad that 3 families of the deceased are affected and of course the Abel family are also affected by all the trauma of waiting for a court case and now losing probably their main wage earner and loved one. His solicitor stated Mr Abel was full of remorse.My sympathies go to all concerned even Mr Abel.
if your mind wonders without cruise control you tend too slow down i dont use it i dont like it 
I use criuse control a lot. But it can cause a problem if you forget its on. When I come to a hill I put my foot on the accelerator and keep it there when I get back on the flat. Then your driving along traffic starts to slow you take your foot off the pedal and you don’t realise that it’s not slowing down for a couple of seconds. It’s not much but it’s using up your reaction time and if you are not paying attention to the traffic as this driver wasn’t, maybe following a bit closer to the traffic in front than he should have been,you have then got a problem.
The crash is on Traffic cops tonight 9pm
Just watched it on T.V.
What a horrible thing to ever have to go through. Felt Kinda sorry for the Driver too, just trying to earn a wage.
My condolences to all the families involved.
i just watched too.
4 years doesn’t seem enough
i just watched it as well…
thats bad really…
i know im a new driver as in ( only been class driving for the last 2/3 months ) but i cudn’t live with my self to be honest if i done some think like that knowing it was my fault…
i think deep down he must know it was his fault!
i could understand it some one pulled in front of him etc as i have thatr nearly every day… and come on we can’t stop the trucks the way we can stop cars…
did any one notice that there was no side marks on the road ?from the truck ? so im guessing he must of just plude straight in to them!
I’m glad I’m not out tomorrow, just watched that and I won’t be getting too much sleep tonight!
I’ve been driving for 25 years and am just counting up the times that could have been me, anyone who makes a flippant comment about him deserving it really needs to do some soul searching.
A few years back I was coming down the A1M towards the M18 split in the middle of the night, there was only one car in the distance in front of me, I can’t honestly remember why I didn’t see it sooner but I suddenly realized the car had stopped and was actually reversing! I was almost on top of him and had to make a split second decision which way to go, I shot up the shoulder past him, must have scared the hell out of the driver, I know it did me! If I had felt drowsy I would have pulled over but I didn’t, if he’d seen me heading for him and moved over to the left I would have gone straight through him, it still makes me shiver to remember it. Obviously he shouldn’t have been trying to reverse on a motorway, but I should still have noticed in plenty of time. Everyone has momentary lapses, if they’re human anyway! I always try to be a professional driver, but the consequences of a momentary lapse in concentration just don’t bear thinking about.
It is so easy to sit in judgment of that driver, say he should have been aware that traffic had stopped, in my years of driving I’ve probably come across stationary traffic on the motorway thousands of times, if just one of those times you’re not fully on the ball the consequences can be devastating. Someone commented that 4 years didn’t seem enough, from the look on that driver’s face I think he got life.
I agree Ashbyspannerman!!
That Driver will have to live with that for the rest of his life! and know doubt there will not be a single day that goes by when that poor fella wont be thinking about that Night. To say 4 years isnt enough for that driver is a bit over the top.
I watched it too. Iam sorry for the families but if that driver was then reading a paper, on the phone etc then fair enough, I think 4years is a waste of tax payers money that driver has to live with knowledge that he ACCIDENTLY killed 3 people well thats punishment enough.
i’m sorry you think i’m being harsh.
he can be as remorseful as he likes, it doesn’t alter the fact that in two years time he’ll be in the pub laughing and joking with his mates.
the woman who lost her sister and son, the boy who lost his mam and cousin, or the wife (who incidentally held herself better than i ever would) who has lost her husband won’t be going to the pub having a laugh with them, will they?
i agree with what the wife said, he didn’t go out that day looking to kill someone, but he did kill three people
what should we do? pat him on the back and say don’t do it again.
and for those who say he was only doing his job
he wasn’t doing his job, if he was there would be three people still alive today.
ashbyspannerman:
I’m glad I’m not out tomorrow, just watched that and I won’t be getting too much sleep tonight!
I’ve been driving for 25 years and am just counting up the times that could have been me, anyone who makes a flippant comment about him deserving it really needs to do some soul searching.
A few years back I was coming down the A1M towards the M18 split in the middle of the night, there was only one car in the distance in front of me, I can’t honestly remember why I didn’t see it sooner but I suddenly realized the car had stopped and was actually reversing! I was almost on top of him and had to make a split second decision which way to go, I shot up the shoulder past him, must have scared the hell out of the driver, I know it did me! If I had felt drowsy I would have pulled over but I didn’t, if he’d seen me heading for him and moved over to the left I would have gone straight through him, it still makes me shiver to remember it. Obviously he shouldn’t have been trying to reverse on a motorway, but I should still have noticed in plenty of time. Everyone has momentary lapses, if they’re human anyway! I always try to be a professional driver, but the consequences of a momentary lapse in concentration just don’t bear thinking about.
It is so easy to sit in judgment of that driver, say he should have been aware that traffic had stopped, in my years of driving I’ve probably come across stationary traffic on the motorway thousands of times, if just one of those times you’re not fully on the ball the consequences can be devastating. Someone commented that 4 years didn’t seem enough, from the look on that driver’s face I think he got life.
I think we can all say,“There but for the grace of God…”
Any of us that have been driving for some years MUST at some time in their career had one or two close shaves.A news item lke this brings it home to you!
My heart goes out to the driver,he is a victim also and has to live with the fact for the rest of his life that he caused the death of three people.
Cruise control must be used sensibly.I,like most of us use cruise control on the motorway and providing we are alert,a touch of the brakes knocks the C/C off,so you can’t say that cruise control had any bearing on the result of this accident,but a momentary lapse in concentration is all it takes at 56mph.
What really frightens me are the number of younger drivers I have seen driving on C/C with their seats laid back and their feet on the dash.I suppose they think it looks cool!THESE ARE ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN!
I hope none of them have cause to live to regret their foolish actions!
As was stated by the family of one of the victims,the truck driver didn’t leave home with the intention of killing anyone,but if any of these younger drivers thinking they look cool come into a similar scenario,how much time is going to be lost getting back into a proper driving position?.A split second is too long!
And how many drivers still use a hand held mobile phone?Still too many.
Most of us still try and behave like professional drivers,difficult as it is,I think the driver that caused this accident was driving in a proffesional manner,he certainly didn’t look the sort to have his feet up on the dash,he was unfortunate enough to suffer what ALL of us do when driving at night,a split seconds loss of concentration.In most cases we get away with it,but in the event of the cards being stacked the wrong way,disaster!
biggusdickusgb:
i’m sorry you think i’m being harsh.
he can be as remorseful as he likes, it doesn’t alter the fact that in two years time he’ll be in the pub laughing and joking with his mates.If you had done this,would you be lauging about it in years to come?I think not!
Let’s hope we never have to find out eh?
biggusdickusgb:
i’m sorry you think i’m being harsh.
he can be as remorseful as he likes, it doesn’t alter the fact that in two years time he’ll be in the pub laughing and joking with his mates.
Obviousley none of us know the full details, i’ve known two drivers who were involved in accidents where there were multiple fatalities, neither would ever be the same again, one became totally impossible to talk to, he eventually had a breakdown and left driving altogether. the other driver seemed to take it in his stride and acted as though the accident wasn’t a ‘big’ thing, he hung himself on the first anniversary of the accident.
bestbooties:
biggusdickusgb:
i’m sorry you think i’m being harsh.
he can be as remorseful as he likes, it doesn’t alter the fact that in two years time he’ll be in the pub laughing and joking with his mates.If you had done this,would you be lauging about it in years to come?I think not!
Let’s hope we never have to find out eh?we won’t find out, hopefully, and i didn’t say he’d be laughing about the crash, just illustrating he’ll be having a life in two years time
and the fact is he wasn’t doing his job properly and three people died.I think the driver that caused this accident was driving in a proffesional manner,he certainly didn’t look the sort to have his feet up on the dash,he was unfortunate enough to suffer what ALL of us do when driving at night,a split seconds loss of concentration
totally ignoring brake lights and ploughing into standing traffic at 56mph on a straight bit of road isn’t a split second loss of concentration, neither is it driving in a professional manner.
it was only 18.45 and it was dark, all the more reason to notice brake lights on a straight bit of road wouldn’t you think
Thats was a sad program, I really felt for the families of the deceased, ye just never know, ye life could be ova in a split second.
As for the driver, well what was he thinking, he must have taken his eye of the road for a second, he must have dun or was in a daze.
Its true, he will have to live with it forever, I couldnt go thru life with that on my shoulders. He must feel terrible and hes been jailed for 4 years, well i reckon that will be 4 yrs of mental torture. His life is also over.
Theres no mention here on the other 2 trucks, one that was loaded incorrectly with steel cables on a Loan Transport Trailer ( no action taken against the driver) and the Polish " I couldnt care less ■■■■■■■ cos im goin back to Poland in 2 weeks" driver who had clearly been running bent. What did he get ? 11 hrs off… unreal
Both of those fellas could have caused serious fatalities, really.
Cruise control should be banned in my opinion, its just another thing to get wrong.
routier:
Theres no mention here on the other 2 trucks, one that was loaded incorrectly with steel cables on a Loan Transport Trailer ( no action taken against the driver) and the Polish " I couldnt care less [zb] cos im goin back to Poland in 2 weeks" driver who had clearly been running bent. What did he get ? 11 hrs off… unrealBoth of those fellas could have caused serious fatalities, really
this thread is discussing the jailing of this driver,
theres comments about them here trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=36605