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Left hookers are given a wide berth
Page 13
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CAR DRIVERS HAVE become so aware of the safety threat posed by left-hand-drive trucks on UK roads that they are giving them a wide berth, according to a recent survey.
The fear of being side-swiped after a foreign truck pulls out into its blind spot is encouraging 80% of car drivers to give them more room, says the research by car supermarket group Motorpoint.
The survey adds that car drivers are right to be nervous: insurance figures suggest that the number of accidents involving foreign-registered vehicles has risen by 47% in five years. Motorpoint points out that foreign-registered trucks are three times as likely to be involved in an accident in the UK than UK trucks. David Shelton, MD of Motorpoint, says: "UK drivers are at a real risk from overseas trucks whose drivers may not be able to see vehicles overtaking them or who simply don't have a good enough understanding of the British driving laws." The problem with the blind spot of foreign trucks has long been recognised. Last year the Highways Agency. Vosa and the Immigration Service joined forces to provide a practical solution: 40,000 Fresnel blindspot lenses were handed out to drivers of left-hookers as they passed through French ports en route to the UK.
It is estimated that more than 10,000 foreign-registered trucks drive on UK roads on every working day.