The consequences should be the same for all drivers
Page 15
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AS THE DRIVER of an LGV who travels all over Scotland, I see professional drivers flouting the regulations by using mobile phones while at the wheel and risking the consequences of breaking the law on a daily basis [‘Malcolm backs plan to enforce phone ban’, CM 20 September].
I contend that all those caught should suffer the full force of the law.
What I fail to see is why the traffic commissioner (TC) feels it appropriate to consider taking away a driver’s entitlement to drive, when this sanction is not available for car and van drivers committing the same offences.
My understanding of the law, as it applies in Scotland, is that a person cannot be tried for the same offence twice.
A person dealt with by a court is deemed to have “tholed their assize” (yes, really), which in effect means they have served their sentence.
I know the law has been changed to apply to very serious crimes where new and compelling evidence emerges, but that is hardly relevant here.
I also understand that LGV and PCV licences are vocational and held at the discretion of the TC, but I feel that disqualification from driving is a draconian penalty for a matter dealt with by way of a fixed penalty notice for others.
Using a hand-held mobile while driving a large vehicle is not big, it’s not clever and it’s definitely not funny.
I implore all professionals to invest in a handsfree device: they have never been cheaper and could be a lot less expensive than an unexpected, and unpaid, holiday from driving.
David Russell Penicuik, Midlothian