Ban for lorry driver who smashed into bridge ignoring warning signs
A lorry driver will be banned from driving next month after ignoring three warning signs and smashing into the railway bridge in Perth’s Tay Street.
Mark Flatt’s Volvo truck, which was towing a trailer, was “extensively damaged”and Network Rail introduced speed restrictions on the line until safety checks could be carried out.
Depute fiscal Lisa Marshall said the height of the lorry was 13ft 2ins, but the trailer was in the region of 15ft 3ins.
The structure, which carries the main Perth-DundeeAberdeen railway line, is identified as a“low bridge,” with a height of four metres, or 14ft.
“The height restrictions are identified by three warning signs along Marshall Place - and they are all in good order,” she explained.
Fifty-four-year-old Flatt, of Southbourne Road, Bournemouth, had originally been charged with dangerous driving but had his plea of driving carelessly, and colliding with the bridge, accepted.
He admitted failing to observe the signs and attempting to drive under the bridge in Perth’s Tay Street on August 31 last year.
The roof of the trailer was badly damaged when it hit the bridge and the HGV driver “brought his vehicle to a halt”.
As a result, the height warning sign on the rail bridge was bent and dislodged.
As it was a railway bridge, Network Rail was informed and a‘caution’was placed on the line while it was checked for safety.
The fiscal added:“The bridge wasn’t compromised and the restriction on the line was thereafter lifted.”
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton said the accused, who did not appear in court personally, already has six penalty points on his licence.
If he was disqualified, he would lose his job.
An HGV driver for 16 years, he normally drove flatbed lorries but that day had a curtain-sided trailer.
He had taken a wrong turn at the Broxden Roundabout, bound for Aberdeen, and ended up in the centre of Perth.
He“simply hadn’t thought” about the height of the trailer and was only travelling at five-10mph.
Sheriff Neil Bowie said the accused would be disqualified, either under the totting-up procedure or he would receive an outright ban.
He agreed to defer sentence until February 11 to allow Flatt to work two weeks’notice with his employers.