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Bulgarian driver nodded off on A55
Page 34
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A BULGARIAN TRUCK driver who fell asleep at the wheel in broad daylight and veered into the path of an oncoming van,forcing it to crash to avoid a headon collision, has been jailed for four months.
Before the Prestatyn magistrates. Yumar Arif pleaded guilty to dangerous driving via an interpreter.
Tracey Willingham, prosecuting, said van driver Robert Hall was travelling eastwards along the A55 at Glasfryn when he saw Arils truck looming towards him on the wrong side of the road. He swerved to avoid it and ran into a dry stone wall. At the last moment the truck veered back to its own side of the road and continued without stopping.
Arif was later arrested at Holyhead and admitted falling asleep at the wheel. He told police he was unaware the van had crashed or he would have stopped.
Arif and his co-driver had worked 15 days without a weekly rest period. On a journey between Brussels and Holyhead they took turns at the wheel without the minimum daily rest.
Megan Lovelady.appearing for Arif, said he earned only £70 a week while driving in Bulgaria and £800 in Britain. He was under great pressure to keep to time.
District Judge Andrew Shaw said this case confirmed the public's fears about some foreign drivers. Arif had admitted flouting the drivers' rest regulations that were enacted to prevent exactly this kind of incident.
Arif was also banned from driving for three years and must take a retest before he can drive in Britain again.