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 I think it would be fair if he got 18 months ban for his car license but I think that he should have his HGV license rescinded, and the cash fine – at least £1000.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.

Is it not more likely they went with the lower figure as it was more likely to stick? If they went with the higher it might easily be argued and then the subsequent reduced charge might end up lower than just going with it in the first place.

They have to go with the lower of the two readings.

Its possible that he may never get his HGV licence back.

I was watching that program… Only interesting bit I thought was the sentences at the end- mobile phone down trousers boy just didn’t pay the fine and got let off. Most of the rest got minor slaps. Don’t want to sound too daily mail about this but the mobile one was bloody awful.

nevermind 😉

Traffic Police Lorry being used by the West Midlands constabulary.

they were utter **** for using something like that,

a Traffic Police Lorry
a Traffic Police Lorry
a Traffic Police Lorry
a Traffic Police Lorry
a Traffic Police Lorry
a Traffic Police Lorry

sorry what?

all they were after was catching truck drivers on the phone, easy convictions

so, they got lucky on the guy they pulled, the other 99.9% they were just pulling truck drivers on the phone, hence thats the only one they showed

what you probably don’t see when the camera crew is there is not there is copper 1 filming, then saying to copper 2, the driver, “hey look at this idiot” so therefore copper 2 looks 90 degrees to the left to look, taking eyes off road

also, they couldn’t pull said lorry driver, it took another patrol car to come from behind the scenes,

bellends, plain and simple,

Sorry dirtyrider are you complaining that the police used a lorry to catch lorry drivers flouting the law?

So are you against unmarked police cars too?

I think 3 points for using a phone is way too lenient as it is, although the near total lack of enforcement is even worse.

Cycling to work virtually every driver is on the phone on my commute (Cambridge).

You can’t see inside a cab from a patrol car. They need to use another lorry or there’s no chance of catching them. Drivers have been caught watching TV, cooking with gas stoves and allsorts, but using a mobile phone is just as illegal. If you’re against them using a lorry to observe from a suitable vantage point I suggest you lend them your high horse dirtyrider.

a Traffic Police Lorry

sorry what?

And how else do you suggest the police see what’s going on in a lorry drivers cab?
Considering the number of drivers they caught on the phone and the carnage a lorry can create when it ploughs into the back of a queue of standing traffic, I would say it’s a great idea. Also nice to see that they all got points/fine.

edit:

I suggest you lend them your high horse dirtyrider.

Brilliantly put

bellends, plain and simple,

Fixed that for you DirtyRider 😉

they were utter **** for using something like that,

I fear your view on traffic policing tactics would change if, god forbid, it were your Wife & kids that were rear ended by a 40 ton truck because the rshole driving it was on the phone. At least you could mourn safe in the knowledge that he wasnt caught by one of these tactics. Bell end.

They have had great success with that police lorry. So far they have caught drivers watching dvds and cooking food using a camping stove both whilst driving amongst many many others.

I do like how people take offence at things that seem unsporting Effective policing? But that’s just unfair!

Don’t know how anyone can criticise the police for that.

There’s enough distractions already for drivers, legally or otherwise.

Last thing I or anyone else need is some drunken idiot knocking up a bacon sarnie whilst they’re on the phone.