This week in the news there has been at least two stories relating fatal accidents where lorry drivers have been arrested for causing death by careless driving. Is this set to become the norm where heavies are involved in fatal accidents? I bloody well hope not.
The one on the M4 early hours saturday report that the dead were in cars which had been following the trucks involved in the primary collision. Now ok, you have to take anything the Beeb says with a pinch of salt but surely if the cars had been following the heavies in the true sense of the word then surely that is down to them and it’s a bit too early to arrest the heavies’ drivers?
It might just be a coincidence but are we going to get locked up everytime someone gets hurt now?
Qhunter:
The one on the M4 early hours saturday report that the dead were in cars which had been following the trucks involved in the primary collision. Now ok, you have to take anything the Beeb says with a pinch of salt but surely if the cars had been following the heavies in the true sense of the word then surely that is down to them and it’s a bit too early to arrest the heavies’ drivers?
“following” could also be “behind”. I could think of situations where an HGV could cause an accident to vehicles behind (e.g. HGV pulls out in front of car about to overtake)
These are only two incidents, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t know the exact details. Maybe there is sufficent evidence to suggest that the HGV drivers did it? Or maybe not.
smcaul:
They also said that the truck on the M4 was reported as driving erratically on the M25 beforehand, maybe this is why the driver was arrested?
Reported by who though? We get accused of driving eratically if we so much as move out into lane 2 and in the process slow a car down from doing its illegal speed of 85 to 56mph for a few minutes, even though it was half a mile back when you pulled out.
I have also noticed this in the news how drivers are being arrested, which gives the impression to anyone who reads it that its the truck driver who is to blame.
I remember an incedent about 5 years ago now when I was with my dad as we took his truck to the Iveco garage in Immingham at Christmas for one of its services etc, as we came to the bend just before Iveco we slowed down, ready to make the left turn into the yard, when all of a sudden our unit was julted forwards like a train had hit us. It turns out a car with two young women travelling at 70mph had driven right into us without slowing down at all, later an open bottle of perfume was found on the floor of their mangled car after they were cut out and taken to hospital though they didn’t suffer any serious injury. At the scene of the accident, the first thing that happened was that a very arrogant cop demanded my dad took a breathaliser test, though none was ever done on the driver of the car and in the process of the clean up, endless amounts of cars would filter past, wind their window down and shout “typical f-ing truck driver, causing accidents as usual”. I’m happy to say that to the annoyance of the police, it was proven that my father wasn’t at any fault in the accident and that was that but its just incredible how we as a group of people are always guilty by defintion of the vehicle we drive, when I’m certain that we are probably the safest drivers about, either in our trucks or our car.
The one on the M6 happened at 0430 and the lorry crossed over to the other carriageway and hit a lorry on the hard shoulder, a car ran in to the lorry and the occupants were killed. I would certainly hope the lorry driver was arrested, unless he had an heart attack or something simaler.
Qhunter:
The one on the M4 early hours saturday report that the dead were in cars which had been following the trucks involved in the primary collision. Now ok, you have to take anything the Beeb says with a pinch of salt but surely if the cars had been following the heavies in the true sense of the word then surely that is down to them and it’s a bit too early to arrest the heavies’ drivers?
“following” could also be “behind”. I could think of situations where an HGV could cause an accident to vehicles behind (e.g. HGV pulls out in front of car about to overtake)
These are only two incidents, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t know the exact details. Maybe there is sufficent evidence to suggest that the HGV drivers did it? Or maybe not.
A 39-year-old man died in a collision on the M4 after he swerved to avoid another vehicle.
It is believed his Citroen car swerved to miss a Vauxhall but collided with a stationary lorry on the hard shoulder near Membury Services on Wednesday.
A 33-year-old man from Holland arrested on suspicion of unauthorised stopping on a motorway and of causing danger to other road users has been bailed.
Twice I have been wacked by women drivers , first whist waiting my turn to go onto a roundabout, woman coming of the R.O.B to go in the direction I was coming from, she was going to fast and went into the side of me ripped all my air tanks off and ended up under my trailer.
told the police she thought she had heard her Kid open the back door.
result no prosicution.
the second . I was in one of those new laybys on the sittingbourne bypass is it the A249 to sheerness, I am facing the M2 watching then que up to get on the motorway having a cuppatea when bang women coming down lane two misses the standing trafiic in lane one goes over the concrete seperater and wreck the driverside of my cab then bounces back out into the main carraige way… no prosicution, in both cases if I had been in a car I would have been dead, as it was even thought I was stationary I had police over me like flys over [zb]
this all sounds familiar these days. a car hits lorry, no prosecution. a lorry hits a car who cuts him up, lorry driver is at fault. just another form of discrimination
robinhood_1984:
At the scene of the accident, the first thing that happened was that a very arrogant cop demanded my dad took a breathaliser test, though none was ever done on the driver of the car and in the process of the clean up, endless amounts of cars would filter past, wind their window down and shout “typical f-ing truck driver, causing accidents as usual”. I’m happy to say that to the annoyance of the police, it was proven that my father wasn’t at any fault in the accident and that was that but its just incredible how we as a group of people are always guilty by defintion of the vehicle we drive, when I’m certain that we are probably the safest drivers about, either in our trucks or our car.
During Drink Driving Campaigns, Christmas and now in the Summer the Police are required to Breathalise all drivers involved in an accident regardless of blame, unless there is a good reason not to do so, such as being trapped in the wreckage.
The main problem is the Police now work on targets. Obviously they can find it easier to procecute a HGV (LGV) driver as we have more rules that can be broken and it’s easier to collect the evidence.
E.G. Car driver has been driving for 5 hours to get on holiday after leaving work, not an offence, but could be charged with careless driving, but harder to prosecute. But truck driver has 44mins break, so it’s reported that the HGV driver has exceeding driving hours, confirms the publics view that we are all law breakers who don’t care for others safety and evidence is easy to collect, easy prosecution.
I got reported to the police for driving in a threatening manner on M25. As I was in Germany at time, and had docs to prove it, no further action. I asked police who made the report and what action was to be be taken against them for; wasting police time; acting in a threatening manner (against me, in my view) . Police would not release that info when they told me they would take no action, as I wanted to sue them through the Courts.
Lovely fella, ain’t I??
A 39-year-old man died in a collision on the M4 after he swerved to avoid another vehicle.
It is believed his Citroen car swerved to miss a Vauxhall but collided with a stationary lorry on the hard shoulder near Membury Services on Wednesday.
A 33-year-old man from Holland arrested on suspicion of unauthorised stopping on a motorway and of causing danger to other road users has been bailed.
w t f
the lorry drivers fault again
WOW thats like being burgled and getting arrested for owning state of the art electrical equipment
A 39-year-old man died in a collision on the M4 after he swerved to avoid another vehicle.
It is believed his Citroen car swerved to miss a Vauxhall but collided with a stationary lorry on the hard shoulder near Membury Services on Wednesday.
A 33-year-old man from Holland arrested on suspicion of unauthorised stopping on a motorway and of causing danger to other road users has been bailed.
w t f
the lorry drivers fault again
I just wonder if you are involved in a collision on the hard shoulder after being pulled over by the Police, would they then be prosecuted?
The saddest thing about the whole tihing really is that we can possibly do something and have a voice to make a change to the discrimination we suffer but as usual we will say nothing do nothing and get back in our lorries toorrow doan about something else instead.
Quite right Jammy! Most of us will moan our heads off at the injustice of it all but not want to DO anything. I wonder how many of those moaning car drivers and the general public appreciate the difficulty in passing the required tests to hold a LGV (HGV) licence? I’ve been saying for years that ALL driving licence holders in the UK should be required to take a computer based test on UK driving law (ie. The Highway Code) every five years, at least.
I may have the vote, but I still haven’t got our bloody Fleet Manager to reinstate the Ladies loo…he’s using it to lock away all the hi-viz vests and gloves at the moment and has the nerve to complain when I then have to use the Gents… …but that’s another story.
The point, btw, was that we, as truck drivers, are the first to complain about that fact being highlighted in traffic reports etc…and often the first to play the complete hypocrite (and I’m including myself in this statement too, as I’m as guilty as anyone of swearing about “that bloody woman driver” ) by pointing out that other drivers are female, in white vans, old, or whatever.
…but that’s another story. 
) by pointing out that other drivers are female, in white vans, old, or whatever.