Fatal distraction
Lorry drivers risk lives reading, eating and phoning
FROM reading at the wheel to eating lunch with cutlery while driving down the motorway – these are the lorry drivers putting lives at risk on Britain’s busiest roads.
Despite a major Government crackdown, drivers are still flouting the law, using their phones, browsing through paperwork and taking their eyes off the road while driving at high speeds.
In one of a series of pictures taken on the M1 in Yorkshire and on the M20 near Ashford, Kent, a brazenHGV driver can even be seen steering with his elbows, with a bored expression on his face.
The images come after the Daily Mail’s End The Mobile Madness cam- paign saw the Government impose tougher sanctions for using phones at the wheel.
As part of a major shake-up, drivers caught on their mobiles now face a £200 fine and six points on their licence – double those given to motorists who were previously caught breaking the law.
At the time, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said he wanted to make the practice of using a mobile at the wheel as unacceptable as drink- driving or driving under the influence of drugs.
In one picture, a lorry driver is seen eating lunch from a Tupperware container using cutlery while on the M20, with one hand just lightly resting on the wheel. One driver appears to treat his car like an office. He is seen resting a clipboard against the wheel as he leafs through paperwork, apparently engrossed in the documents, and holds a pen between his teeth.
Another driver can also be seen with his eyes firmly on a document resting against the wheel, despite being on a busy motorway at the time.
In two other pictures, a man is clearly seen chatting on his phone while another holds his mobile out in front of him as if watching a video or reading a text message.
Although police forces across the country have vowed to clamp down on dangerous drivers, these pictures show many are still getting away with being reckless on the roads.
The Government crackdown, introduced in March, came after the RAC highlighted an ‘epidemic’ of motorists using their mobile phones at the wheel – with a third of those surveyed admitting they had made a call using a hand-held device while driving.
But research by the organisation released earlier this year showed that, up until now, police forces had the power to offer awareness courses instead of penalties for hand- held mobile phone use.
This meant many drivers were getting away with just a slap on the wrist, with two in three offenders choosing a course instead of points and a fine.
Simon Williams, of the RAC, said last night: ‘ These images are frightening and beggar belief. This kind of dangerous driving needs to stop.
‘ These drivers are putting other people’s lives at risk as well as their own. Despite all the messages and the change in penalties people are still blatantly breaking the law.’
Jason Wakeford, of road safety charity Brake, said: ‘These are shocking images showing drivers with a total disregard for the safety of other road users.’