Speeding truck drivers beat ban by Richard Harris • Scottish
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lorry drivers working across the border in Cumbria claimed last week they were offered incentives which encouraged them to break the law.
The drivers, working on temporary contracts for Yuill & Dodds of Lanarkshire, were said to be paid bonuses according to the number of trips they could make in a day taking stone to an army base at Longtown from a quarry 15 miles away across the Scottish border near Newcastleton.
It was alleged their boss demanded 10 loads to be carried in a 12-hour day, but the 'men felt they could achieve this only by exceeding the speed limit in their heavy trucks.
Locals in the Longtown area became so concerned about the speeding wagons that they persuaded the police to mount a secret early-morning operation on the A7 to catch them. The result was eight drivers booked for speeding around breakfast time on 22 October last year. Speeds on the 40mph road ranged from 48mph to 57mph.
Scott Wallace of Strathclyde was caught three times on the same stretch of road—twice heading north and once south—in less than an hour. Stuart Bridges of Glasgow was clocked twice.
Both admitted the offences at Carlisle magistrates court and were fined £100 for each offence with £35 costs.
Magistrates decided not to ban the pair, who had previous convictions for speeding, because of the undue hardship it would have caused them.
Defending, Zoe Brereton claimed the men were encouraged to break the law by their boss's incentive scheme. "He would tell them there would be an incentive reflected in their pay packets if they got it all completed," she said.
Driver Cameron Scott admitted one speeding offence. Five others, facing a total of 11 offences, had their cases adjourned.