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Year's ban for driver with 100 offences
Page 29
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Over 100 speeding offences during eight
months. Mike Jewell -eports.
A DRIVER whose artic passed a Transit van on the M54 containing a vehicle examiner and a traffic examiner at speeds in excess of 70mph, has had his HGV driving licence revoked and been disqualified from holding a licence for a year (CM 5 February). Checks on Peter Bird's tachographs revealed more than 100 speeding offences in eight months.
Bird was working for Shrewsbury haulier Mervyn Edwards at the time. In making the revocation and disqualification orders, West Midlands Traffic Commissioner David Dixon said analysis of Bird's tachograph charts from May to December 2002 revealed that he had driven at speeds of between 110 and 130km/h on 103 occasions. He had also committed six 4.5-hour driving offences, six of exceeding the daily driving period and six of taking insufficient daily rest.
When interviewed, Bird had explained his excessive speed as "just careless". He said he was unaware that he was travelling that fast and that he had exceeded the permitted driving hours and failed to take sufficient rest. Bird had wilfully put other people's lives at risk, said the TC. His blatant disregard of the laws applying to the driving of HGVs suggested a man who was unconcerned about the injury or death of other road users. Five other drivers who worked for Edwards and who blamed excessive speeds on driving elderly vehicles that did not require speed limiters, (CM 8 January) had their HGV driving licences suspended for periods of between two and 12 weeks.
Edwards' own HGV licence was suspended for four weeks and, in an earlier hearing, his 0licence was cut from six vehicles and six trailers to three vehicles and three trailers for two months (CM 5 February).
Formal warning No action was taken against the licence of a sixth driver, who had twice driven at excessive speed. other than to issue him with a formal warning.
The TC said two of the drivers did not seem to accept that they had repeatedly committed serious criminal offences. A driver who delib erately and persistently drove at 25mph i than was allowed by law was putting peoples' lives at risk. If they were to contir their chosen profession they had to under; the reasons for the laws and comply with 1 One driver's explanation for speeding wa he had been travelling down a steep hi] when he realised he was going too fast i too late. The vehicle did not have an exl brake and he had not wanted to lose a air. However, the TC said the law did not greater speed downhill and indeed a ve speeding downhill took longer to stop thi the level or uphill.
In suspending Edwards' HGV di licence, the TC said compliance with the 1 such cases lay with both the operator an drivers. Edwards had driven at betweei and 125km/h six times and had three end meats for speeding on his licence. In add he had committed a daily rest offence. operator he should have been setting a example to his employees. •