Polish lorry driver caused fatal crash - wrong side of road

Polish lorry driver caused fatal crash by driving on wrong side of road

leicestermercury.co.uk/Lorry … z2pRTFDRXX

A Polish lorry driver caused a fatal head-on collision by driving on the wrong side of the road because he forgot he was in England.

Zdzislaw Podolak (55) was jailed for two-and-a-half years yesterday, after admitting causing the death of Gavin Smith by driving dangerously.

The tragedy happened at 6am on February 23 last year as Mr Smith was setting off with friends on a skiing holiday.

Podolak’s HGV encountered their Land Rover Discovery on the Shoby Bends, on the A6006 near Melton.

Victoria Rose, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court the Land Rover was being driven by Thomas Freeman, with Mr Smith in the front passenger seat and Mike Pratt in the back.

The three, all from Melton, were on their way to pick up Jason Addenbrook, of Old Dalby, en route to East Midlands Airport.

Miss Rose said: "As Mr Freeman went round the corner, the defendant’s HGV was immediately in front.

"It had its headlights on and was completely on the wrong side of the road.

“Mr Freeman swerved to the right but the front nearside impacted with the HGV, where Mr Smith was sitting.”

He died at the scene from chest injuries. Mr Smith (34) was not wearing a seat belt.

His friends suffered minor injuries.

Miss Rose said there was “significant damage” to the vehicles, both travelling at between 25mph to 30mph, although the lorry had braked to 13.4mph at the time of impact.

She said: “In interview, Podolak admitted he was on the wrong side of the road. He said he forgot he was in the UK.”

Miss Rose said Mr Smith’s death has “devastated” his wife Jenny and their four-year-old son, Edward.

In a statement referred to in court, Mrs Smith described being “torn apart” by the loss.

Miss Rose said: “She’s trying to rebuild her life and is facing difficult times as a single parent. She’s lost a loving husband who was her closest friend.”

Helen Johnson, mitigating said: "He’s used to driving principally in Europe and on the other side of the road.

"It was dark and perhaps the confusion arose when he was lost and seeking to get back to where he needed to be.

"Neither driver would have seen each other until they came upon each other.

“He should have realised he was on the wrong side of the road. He simply made a mistake, it was human error.”

She said Podolak lived in Poland, supporting his wife, their 12-year-old child and his 87-year-old blind mother.

A lorry driver for 20 years, he had no previous convictions.

Judge Robert Brown banned Podolak from driving in the UK for three years.

He said: "Miss Johnson (representing Podolak) says it was human error and I agree.

"But it was a very grave error causing substantial risk to other road users.

“This was a blind bend, a severe bend. Mr Freeman was driving perfectly properly and didn’t contribute to the collision.”

Mr Smith, who grew up in Market Harborough, and worked in farming and later for John Morris, in Rutland, dealing with groundwork for Anglian Water and gritting around the county.

Tough mammaries.No seat belt on.That is the law.Did he have a medical exemption certificate from his Doctor to allow no seat belt use?

ROG:
Zdzislaw Podolak (55) was jailed for two-and-a-half years yesterday, after admitting causing the death of Gavin Smith by driving dangerously.

fare enough but a bit harsh

. Mr Smith (34) was not wearing a seat belt. He died at the scene from chest injuries

so he may have not died which ment the polish driver may not have a prison sentence ■■

Judge Robert Brown banned Podolak from driving in the UK for three years.

Fair comment but he’s still able to drive all over the world but just not in the UK

He said: "Miss Johnson (representing Podolak) says it was human error and I agree.

"But it was a very grave error causing substantial risk to other road users.

“This was a blind bend, a severe bend. Mr Freeman was driving perfectly properly and didn’t contribute to the collision.”
but had he been made responsible for his LOAD ( passengers ) would he had got off like he has

Yes I know the story ,

Truck driver CAUSED the accident …in sense Mr Smith was breaking the law which ended up with him losing his life but the driver of the vehicle should be made more responsible for his passengers as a driver is for his load …

Such a shame. RIP.

It’s actually quite easy to make this error. I do feel a bit of sympathy for the trucker.

nick2008:
Yes I know the story ,

Truck driver CAUSED the accident …in sense Mr Smith was breaking the law which ended up with him losing his life but the driver of the vehicle should be made more responsible for his passengers as a driver is for his load …

A load can’t decide whether it wants to be strapped down or not a passenger can, Mr Smith was an adult and took the decision not to wear a seat belt, nobody can say for sure what the outcome would have been if he had been wearing his seat belt, but is was stated the main impact was where Mr Smith had been sitting.

I feel for all involved, many lives changed by a momentary lapse of concentration, a mistake that many including myself have made, I did on my first trip to France in a truck, first day and half no problem, then turned down a small national road and after a mile realised I was on the wrong side of the road. I was lucky Mr Podolak and Mr Smith weren’t.

Consider a prison sentence harsh, the MP who caused death by driving on the wrong side of the road while on holiday did not receive a prison sentence indeed he was eventually
made a Minister of Transport.
And since I have spent many years travelling Europe /UK I, as others have done, have found myself driving down the wrong side of the road on several occasions, scary,easily done.

I think the sentence is way over the top, There’s a few spots on that road that any of us would have to use the wrong side of the road.
Probably bad legal advice, The usual “plead guilty for a lesser sentence”.

I’ve done the same. I’d been tramping round Europe for so long that i pulled out of an RDC back in the UK and went a couple of hundred yards before realising i was on the wrong side. No one died, But it can happen to anyone.

hope he has to take a British driving test before being allowed to drive again. Actually come to think of it this should apply to anybody who drives abroad , of course itd be a nightmare to organize
but these slip ups happen to nearly everybody who drives abroad and the cost must be skyhigh of accidents and fatalities due to inexperience on foreign road networks

corij:
hope he has to take a British driving test before being allowed to drive again. Actually come to think of it this should apply to anybody who drives abroad , of course itd be a nightmare to organize
but these slip ups happen to nearly everybody who drives abroad and the cost must be skyhigh of accidents and fatalities due to inexperience on foreign road networks

So, applying your own logic what you are saying is that you would also expect exactly the same driving test to apply to Brits when we go over the channel.
But that won’t solve anything. Anyone can make this slip-up, whether they know how to drive or not.

corij:
hope he has to take a British driving test before being allowed to drive again. Actually come to think of it this should apply to anybody who drives abroad , of course itd be a nightmare to organize
but these slip ups happen to nearly everybody who drives abroad and the cost must be skyhigh of accidents and fatalities due to inexperience on foreign road networks

I don’t get ya… So if they pass a driving test, it’d be ok??

He wasn’t at the port ffs, he’d been driving for some time before the accident, and it was an accident. I also think jail was harsh.

1st time I ever drove abroad, I was fine until I came to a major cross roads with traffic lights, I wanted to turn right, so I was in the right lane with my indicator on. Lights turned green and I drove 1/2 way across the road, looked at a load of headlights and carried on and found somewhere to turn around :blush:
I’d probably done quite a few miles before then, all on the correct side of the road etc, but at that instant, I just forgot, made a mistake, whatever.

I could go sit a licence abroad tomorrow, that won’t make me a better driver over there though, I’d still be best where I do most of my driving - whether that be the UK or Europe - and worse in the other.

maybe not a full test, but at least something to prove you know how the lane system works in whatever country you are in , and what the road signs mean. i bet these type of "wrong side i forgot "accidents are happening at an all time high

Maybe we should merge this with the ‘Drivers paid less that posties’ thread? And maybe then, some can realise why some think it should be higher paid.

Jail for a mistake - try that as a postie?

waynedl:
Maybe we should merge this with the ‘Drivers paid less that posties’ thread? And maybe then, some can realise why some think it should be higher paid.

Jail for a mistake - try that as a postie?

That’s what they get, you “nick” a few letters and say it was a mistake and you will do time for it.

brados:

waynedl:
Maybe we should merge this with the ‘Drivers paid less that posties’ thread? And maybe then, some can realise why some think it should be higher paid.

Jail for a mistake - try that as a postie?

That’s what they get, you “nick” a few letters and say it was a mistake and you will do time for it.

But nicking isn’t a mistake, it’s pretty bloody obvious what you’re doing.

This guy made a slight mistake, a brief lack of concentration and is now in the nick.

The equivalent would be forgetting to post a letter maybe or putting the wrong letter in the wrong post box■■?

waynedl:
Maybe we should merge this with the ‘Drivers paid less that posties’ thread? And maybe then, some can realise why some think it should be higher paid.

Jail for a mistake - try that as a postie?

+1 spot on mate.

waynedl:
This guy made a slight mistake, a brief lack of concentration and is now in the nick.

The equivalent would be forgetting to post a letter maybe or putting the wrong letter in the wrong post box■■?

That brief lack of concentration cost a life - how about if it had been your wife/mother/father/brother etc, a slight mistake it is not, the sentence should have been longer, I doubt you would be happy to see him walk free with six points on his license then, he was in the wrong and on the wrong side of the road, I know the guy didn’t have a seatbelt on but who knows if that would have changed the outcome, the truck driver was still in the wrong. I know that stretch of road and it can be tight but we all deal with these roads on a daily basis, plus he admitted that he forgot he was in England and was driving on the wrong side of the road.

brados:

waynedl:
This guy made a slight mistake, a brief lack of concentration and is now in the nick.

The equivalent would be forgetting to post a letter maybe or putting the wrong letter in the wrong post box■■?

That brief lack of concentration cost a life - how about if it had been your wife/mother/father/brother etc, a slight mistake it is not, the sentence should have been longer, I doubt you would be happy to see him walk free with six points on his license then, he was in the wrong and on the wrong side of the road, I know the guy didn’t have a seatbelt on but who knows if that would have changed the outcome, the truck driver was still in the wrong. I know that stretch of road and it can be tight but we all deal with these roads on a daily basis, plus he admitted that he forgot he was in England and was driving on the wrong side of the road.

As I said, it’s a mistake, he usually drives in Europe not in The UK, had it been 100 yards earlier or later then the outcome would have been different, had the passenger in the other car had his seatbelt on - AS REQUIRED BY LAW - then the outcome MAY have been different.
The tacho proved the truck driver’s speed, nothing proved the car drivers speed, but this isn’t about that so I’m not going to make any assumptions.

My point is, it’s the equivelent of a postie being took of his normal round, and put onto a different round in a different area, he posts a letter through the wrong door, does he go to jail?
NO he doesn’t, so between this topic and that topic, why is he paid the same / more than some HGV drivers?

Paid for sitting on our arse my arse

Sad for all involved.

waynedl:
My point is, it’s the equivelent of a postie being took of his normal round, and put onto a different round in a different area, he posts a letter through the wrong door, does he go to jail?

This is a stupid comparison. Nobody will die as an immediate result of a letter being posted incorrectly.
Why don’t you use the comparison of a surgeon where a mistake can cost someones life. They can be jailed for neglegence.
This driver was negligent.