Is it any wonder that people are killed on the roads? Midlands Today have just shown a piece about a Traffic Police Lorry being used by the West Midlands constabulary. They actually showed footage of a case which, if I wasn't already so cynical, I would have found unbelievable. The Police Lorry comes up at the side of another HGV and they film the driver using his mobile. When he sees them he actually takes his driving hand off the wheel to give the coppers the thumbs up. They obviously stop him and while one of them is taking his details in the patrol car the other has a look round in the truck cab. He finds 4 unopened cans of Special Brew and I think 6 cans of Tennants Super, at least 2 of which have been drunk. They take him in to custody and do a breathalyser test on him. They are lenient to him in that the machine gives a high and low reading. The high is just over and the low is just under 2x the legal limit. They prosecute him on the lower figure. His penalty - 18 month ban and a £120ish fine. Now admittedly he hopefully will never get a driving job again when his license is returned and there is a good chance that he will struggle to get a job in the current climate. But still I find the sentence disgusting. It's bad enough in a car but the carnage a HGV accident can have is horrendous. I'm bl**dy apoplectic! I think it would be fair if he got 18 months ban for his car license but I think that he should have his HGV license rescinded, and the cash fine - at least £1000.
And before anyone starts he didn't have his face blurred and did speak on the vid and he wasn't Polish/Ukrainian/any other nationality associated with poor lorry driving in the UK.
