THE BEST OF TIMES.
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Like the opening line of A Tole of Two Cities, last week we saw the very best, and the very worst, of British truck driving.
The best was from Alastair Insch, the quick-thinking driver who averted disaster on the M53 by manoeuvring his truck next to a car whose driver had fallen unconscious, steering it on to the hard shoulder and safety.
The worst was Vincent Parsons, the 26-year-old driver from Newport who drove his 38-tanner straight into a line of stationary traffic on the M42 killing six people.
Both stories certainly got wide coverage. Insch's act was hailed by the police as "An astonishing display of courage, ingenuity and professional driving." Note that word professional. Parsons was branded as a menace by the Judge who sentenced him to three years for reckless driving.
The question is, which one will the Great British public remember? The chances are, it will be Parsons.
In 1990, the most recent year for which figures are available, 5,217 people died on British roads. That statistic alone should be enough to make every professional driver stop before pulling out of the yard for another day's work and ask themselves a simple question: "What do I want to be remembered for?"