Arla Foods HGV driver illegally on the phone and in a box junction

[Riding in Circles]

BM, I honestly can see anywhere where anyone has been nasty to Lee. Certainly not in any way that Lee wouldn't be to others.

I'm a live and let live kinda guy and if I feel Lee is trolling I tend to exit the discussion. However, I can understand why he winds others up.

As you say, I'm sure he is a great guy in real life, and I am sure I'd enjoy a pint with him. However, I and others have on a number of occasions suggested to Lee that if he wants to make a point, it doesn't need to be done in a 'trolling' manner. He hasn't heeded that (his prerogative of course) but he should then understand why he annoys other posters.

IMO of course.

I've met him and he is an idiot, can't even look after his own wallet without the help of strangers.

 

[magnatom]

I've met him and he is an idiot, can't even look after his own wallet without the help of strangers.

At least you're not calling him a retar.....

 

[Riding in Circles]

At least you're not calling him a retar.....

I find that offensive, I know someone who is a retar.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Regardless of whether the phone is being used for talking into, or that 2 hands are on the wheel... tilting the head to cradle the phone between the ear and the shoulder will have an impact on driving. It may be just the concentration wandering as you realise that the position is uncomfortable... but it's still a distraction.

 

[Jezston]

Lee:
Perhaps I wouldn't have missed your point if you hadn't deliberately gone out of your way to conceal it. And that the point you were making was meaningless and asinine.
Where I come from we call that trolling.

I hope the attention you received as a result has satiated your cravings and we can all get back to talking about stuff without someone jumping up and down and drawing cocks on our hands.

 

[Origamist]

In this situation it's clear to me that the driver on his mobile wasn't reading the road ahead. If he was he'd have never entered the box junction in the first place as the road ahead was clearly rammed with stationary traffic.

Indeed. I wonder if he was on the phone to his company?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Indeed. I wonder if he was on the phone to his company?

Wouldn't surprise me. It also wouldn't surprise me if it was them who'd phoned him, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they'd failed to provide him with a hands free kit while still expecting him to answer the phone whenever they phoned to ask "where are you now?" every five minutes.

 

[stowie]

I think you are all jumping to conclusions and possibly unfairly blaming the poor lorry driver.

The mobile phone - as Lee so sensibly points out, he may not be using it at all, but just holding it to his ear. Why? Well who knows, maybe he wants to warm up his right ear, or maybe he wants to show off his new phone to the passing pedestrians.

The stopping in a box junction - well clearly we don't know what led up to him sitting over the yellow hatchings. OK, he may have just stopped on them, but surely he may have been innocently sitting at the junction when some workman happened to paint the yellow hatching on the road under his HGV? I think you must agree that he could be completely innocent of any highway code infraction in that case.

Blocking the pedestrian crossing - clearly this road will be very busy at rush hour. The lorry driver is blocking the pedestrian crossing so they cannot use it and be exposed to the hazards of filtering cycles and bikes. He is actually doing the pedestrians a service, but probably receiving very little thanks for his trouble.

I hope that you are all now a little more aware that the lorry driver is almost certainly completely innocent of any driving infractions, and may actually be helping road safety. And you are all treating him as if he is a idiot flouting the law by using a mobile phone and showing no regard for other road users. Shame on you all.

 

[hackbike 666]

I have two incidents on camera today of one driver talking into his phone and being totally unaware I was behind him and the other texting with erratic braking.

 

[stowie]

Wouldn't surprise me. It also wouldn't surprise me if it was them who'd phoned him, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they'd failed to provide him with a hands free kit while still expecting him to answer the phone whenever they phoned to ask "where are you now?" every five minutes.

A bluetooth kit costs £20 from tesco. Even a fairly complex one costs less than £50. Surely the lorry driver could just get one themselves? If it was an earpiece, they could also use it in their own vehicle and remain within the law at all times.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

A bluetooth kit costs £20 from tesco. Even a fairly complex one costs less than £50. Surely the lorry driver could just get one themselves? If it was an earpiece, they could also use it in their own vehicle and remain within the law at all times.

My attitude was always "why should I spend my money?" If the company wants to communicate with me while I'm driving, they can buy the thing. Admittedly, I wouldn't normally answer the phone, but it's hard to resist it all the time, especially when they keep ringing.

 

[stowie]

My attitude was always "why should I spend my money?" If the company wants to communicate with me while I'm driving, they can buy the thing. Admittedly, I wouldn't normally answer the phone, but it's hard to resist it all the time, especially when they keep ringing.

Would the company, or you, pick up the 3 points and £60 fine (or worse) if caught using a mobile? I just think that the solution to holding a mobile in a vehicle is so cheap and simple that there is no excuse for anyone caught using a handheld mobile.

Besides, these things aren't fixed to a particular vehicle, you can move the kit easily to another lorry or your car - they are always useful.

The issue is that people are too lazy to bother getting a kit, and the detection rate for this crime is so low, everyone knows you can pretty much get away with it.

 

[scouserinlondon]

My attitude was always "why should I spend my money?" If the company wants to communicate with me while I'm driving, they can buy the thing. Admittedly, I wouldn't normally answer the phone, but it's hard to resist it all the time, especially when they keep ringing.

I agree with you on this mate. If the transport office want to hassle you all day they should provide good kit to hassle you on.

 

[Ashtrayhead]

You

Who are you calling a you, you?

 

[hackbike 666]

Im my job I am told to turn the phone off when I enter the cab which I do which rids the cab of a distraction.They are strict on this rule which is a good thing.