What does it take to lose your HGV license?

[jefmcg]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...dale-lost-leg-lorry-collision-driver-625-fine

A midwife whose leg was amputated at the roadside after she was hit by a Tesco lorry has said she is hugely disappointed that the driver was fined just £625 and given five points on his licence after he pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.

I'm so glad she's alive to complain, with the horror in the detail of "at the roadside". What a terrible mess it must have been for them to do that in central London. It's like some (English or American) civil war scene.

Sometimes I read reports and think "yeah, the only witness besides from the accused is dead" but in this case she was there to tell here side, as was her partner Keith Bontrager (yeah, that Bontrager).

But the driver: he's only 24, he hasn't been driving that long, so many red flags. There are literally thousands of careers that aren't HGV driver. Why can't we say "this isn't the job for you"?

 

[Arjimlad]

Agreed.

 

[steveindenmark]

As a Class one driver my initial thought is that this driver should not be on the road by himself until he received further training. The instructor who said he needed further training the day before must be mortified.

There are plenty of good drivers out there. Why Tescos are using drivers like this must be financially driven.

Now he has been found guilty, it makes the civil injuries claim a lot easier and it will be a big payout.

I hope Julie can find a way to get back on a bike and start to enjoy riding again. The mental side of this accident can be more difficult than the physical side to get over.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

You can also contact the DVSA Regional Intelligence Unit on the freephone intelligence line: 0800 030 4103, there is no direct email contact address available for the general public.

This was given to me by the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland when I complained about a bus operator last year. The following is an excerpt of their email response to me:

" Additionally, DVSA have an Intelligence service where reports are submitted
and may be investigated by our Regional Intelligence Unit (RIU). We have
forwarded all your correspondence to the RIU. Once we have received an
Intelligence report it is dealt with by the RIU and we have no further
involvement in this.

Be assured that we record and process all the information we receive.
Sometimes your information can form part of a much larger picture and needs
to be considered in those circumstances. In these circumstances it will not
always be evident that action has been or is being taken."

GC

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Oprea was working unaccompanied for the first time, and it was alleged he was not following the route provided by Tesco, though Oprea argued he was following directions from his satellite navigation system.

I've driven for Tesco's via an agency granted maybe 10 years ago but they were at that time the keenest company that I worked for on H&S. At that time they banned Sat Nav's due to a death where a driver had followed it's route & had then tried to do a 360 turn & crushed some one against a lamp post. An assessor would take you out before you were allowed to go out on your own, they would then randomly join you on a run without warning. The route to the store was laid down for you on one side of an A4, the other side contained a plan of the store you were going to visit along with all the instructions of how to reverse onto the doors etc. Each unit had tracking on it & they would contact you if you went off route, I also think you had to call in if the road was blocked & you had to take a diversion.

Maybe their standards had slipped.

This is tragic but having a go at the driver just because he's 24 is not right, there are some 24 years old, or even younger who will drive better than somebody with 50 years experience.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I came across this in my local paper. It shows that, even if the courts are pussy-footing around, the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland isn't.

"I do not have to wait for him to kill or injure someone before I can exercise my powers to disqualify indefinitely."
​

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/...er_handed_20_year_ban_over_dangerous_driving/

GC

 

[Deleted member 26715]

She hasn't taken his driving license off him, just hs entitlement to drive LGV's he's now a fast food delivery driver, hate to think how he drives with pizza's going cold in the boot

 

[Markymark]

I've always said the Traffic Commissioners are the best option for hitting LGV/HGV/PSV drivers.

I think a big stick is better....

 

[glasgowcyclist]

She hasn't taken his driving license off him, just hs entitlement to drive LGV's he's now a fast food delivery driver,...

I know that. I was contrasting the approaches taken by courts and a traffic commissioner, whereby judges frequently deliver soft sentences (until a repeat offender eventually kills someone).

GC

 

[jefmcg]

This is tragic but having a go at the driver just because he's 24 is not right, there are some 24 years old, or even younger who will drive better than somebody with 50 years experience.

I didn't mean that his age makes him a bad driver. Drivers claim extreme hardship to keep their licence. I can see a 50 year old with 2 kids at school, a sick wife, and £150,000 left on the mortgage with no other skills might have a point but a 24 year old can switch careers more easily

 

[marknotgeorge]

She hasn't taken his driving license off him, just hs entitlement to drive LGV's he's now a fast food delivery driver, hate to think how he drives with pizza's going cold in the boot

I had a go at a delivery driver for parking on the pavement of my terraced street with the nose of his car practically touching a neighbour's house instead of parallel parking like I'd just done. Nobber.

 

[mjr]

I had a go at a delivery driver for parking on the pavement of my terraced street with the nose of his car practically touching a neighbour's house instead of parallel parking like I'd just done. Nobber.

And how did that work out for you?

 

[mjr]

I've always said the Traffic Commissioners are the best option for hitting LGV/HGV/PSV drivers.

Varies quite a bit between Commissioners AFAICT.

 

[marknotgeorge]

And how did that work out for you?

About as well as can be expected, tbh. He whined about not having time to park properly and I just went home.

 

[mjr]

About as well as can be expected, tbh. He whined about not having time to park properly and I just went home.

If it passes the threshold for annoyance, take a picture and berate the company online. Pre-internet and pre-handlebarcam, I only ever had one good result from berating a commercial driver and that was someone delivering to Boots's, when I caught up to them at the shop door. I doubt berating the driver ever works. Just complain about them instead.