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Posts Tagged ‘safety’

Van Driver Fined for Eating At the Wheel

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

A van driver from South Yorkshire was hit with a £600 fine after being found guilty of failing to be in proper control of his vehicle after police officers saw him eating a cheesecake while driving his van.

John Barton pleaded not guilty to the offence when appearing at Rotherham Magistrates Court earlier this month but was fined £200 with £400 costs by the court. He will now have to wait for his van insurance renewal before he finds out whether the incident will affect his commercial vehicle insurance premium. Traffic police officers said they observed the van driven by Mr Barton weaving between lanes on the day in question, and they considered him to be a danger to other traffic. One officer said he observed Mr Barton driving with his elbows on the steering wheel while he ate a cheesecake with his hands. Mr Barton completely denied eating a cheesecake but did admit to eating a bite sized marshmallow. He also admitted the van was weaving between lanes but said that was down to the weather conditions and said the nearby Tinsley Viaduct had actually been closed that day due to high winds.

He went on to say: “I was weaving but not because of me having my hands off the steering wheel, I just wouldn’t do that. The police officer who stopped me said he actually saw me eating, but he didn’t. He also said I sniggered. I didn’t, it was the guy sat next to me. I feel it was all an injustice. I was eating but not a cheesecake, it was a little marshmallow which I took from the dashboard in just a few seconds. My argument is that people with cigarettes hold them with one hand on the steering wheel and all I did was take a chocolate teacake or whatever off the dashboard.”

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: “This is the same sort of case as a mobile phone. When you’re behind the wheel it’s potentially a lethal weapon. You have to be in proper control or you risk injuries to others and yourself.”

Tags: dangerous drivers, Police, safety, van insurance, Yorkshire
Posted in Crime, Drivers, commercial vehicle insurance | No Comments »

Van Drivers Taking Risks by Ignoring Temporary Traffic Lights

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Van drivers with a disregard for public safety or their own commercial vehicle insurance have been heavily criticised by a public body. The Environment Agency claims that commercial van drivers are repeatedly ignoring temporary traffic lights near a Todmorden school. The temporary single lane system has been brought in to allow safe working for the contractors who are working hard to build the new flood defences along Rochdale Road.

The drivers are not just ignoring the traffic lights; some irresponsible drivers are also failing to stop at a pedestrian crossing that is used by parents and children going to and from the nearby school. The contractors (Volker Stevin) have been providing a part-time crossing attendant in an attempt to reduce the risk to pedestrians, but despite this and working with the police, numerous incidents are still being reported.

Will Benedikz, Environment Agency project manager for the Todmorden flood scheme, said “The safety of the public and our contractors is of paramount concern and the fact that motorists are frequently failing to stop at pedestrian crossings is very worrying. We have tried to minimise the disruption to the people of Todmorden during the construction of the flood alleviation scheme and are grateful for the patience shown by the vast majority of drivers.”

Despite the efforts of the contractors and police, local residents still say there have been a number of occasions when commercial vans have gone through a red light and met oncoming traffic in a single lane section. This is not just highly dangerous but also causes unwanted delays for all other road users. The police have confirmed they will be stepping up monitoring by installing a camera which will take the registration numbers of any vehicles seen to have driven through red lights. The owner of any vehicle going through a red light will receive a £60 fine in the post and may also face the prospect of having points on their licence.

Tags: Environment Agency, safety, Todmorden, Traffic problems
Posted in Crime, Drivers, commercial vehicle insurance | No Comments »

Swindon a Safe Haven for Motorists

Friday, March 30th, 2012

Van drivers pursuing their trade in and around the Wiltshire town of Swindon may find themselves getting lower commercial vehicle insurance quotes in the future as the town has been identified as the safest place in the UK for motorists.

In a nationwide survey based on figures supplied by the Department for Transport, insurance experts have discovered Swindon, which has a rate of just 2 accidents per thousand vehicles registered in the town, is the safest place in England. All the more surprising when one considers they were the first town in England to turn off their speed cameras.

It appears that the council’s decision to invest in alternative measures to improve road safety rather than the cameras hated by many motorists has been a roaring success. In the 6 months after the static cameras were switched off, not one major accident was reported in the town. A spokesman for the Taxpayers Alliance who has vigorously campaigned for the removal of speed cameras said: “This is more evidence that speed cameras are not the answer to making Britain’s roads safer. The cameras result in fines that represent a significant burden on drivers on the basis of how fast they are driving on one stretch of road, but we need a broader, more effective approach to road safety policy. Local authorities should follow Swindon’s example and move to focus on other road safety measures aside from speed.”

Further inspection of the report shows that van drivers in London are 45 times more liable to have a traffic accident of some kind as the capital came out worst in the report with 90 vehicles per thousand vehicles registered. Other good performers proved to be Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire while the worst provincial city turned out to be Nottingham.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, commercial vehicle insurance quotes, safety, Swindon, UK roads
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Upgrade for Dangerous Ayrshire Road could Save Lives

Friday, March 16th, 2012

The Scottish Government has announced that £20 million is to be spent upgrading an accident black spot. The huge amount of cash will be used to improve the A77 between Symington and Bogend Toll and commercial drivers will be delighted with the news.

The South Ayrshire stretch is the busiest part of the A77 and one of the biggest accident black spots in the UK. The Scottish Government are so worried about the accident rate on the road they are committing approximately 30% of their transport budget on this single project. The upgrade should cut journey times, ease congestion and make the road safer for all drivers.

Campaigners including all the major freight and haulage associations as well as commercial vehicle insurance providers have lobbied tirelessly for improvements, and they have crossed swords with Scottish Transport Minister, Keith Brown, on many occasions. The minister always said the improvements would go ahead when funding was in place and it seems he is a man of his word.

The news has been welcomed by Adam Ingram, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, who said: “I am delighted with the announcement which brings to fruition a long promised and long delayed project. This upgrade is vital for our local economy and the safety of the local communities. This is very good news for the local area and will be a welcome step forward in ensuring the Symington and Bogend Toll junctions are made safe. We kept the A77 and safety concerns at these junctions at the top of the SNP Government’s agenda stressing the need for a strategic road network that is fit for the 21st century.”

The delays that have held up this project, which was originally meant to have begun six years ago, mean that the safety works that will help to improve road safety on the notorious stretch of the A77 cannot come soon enough to those who use the roads each day.

Tags: A77, commercial vehicle insurance, safety, Symington and Bogend Toll
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Tyre safety company ready to spread the word

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

A leading UK tyre safety organisation is pulling out all the stops in 2012 to make drivers aware of just how important the four corners of their vehicle are.

The organisation Tyresafe will be spreading their message far and wide this year but will particularly aim the message at young drivers with little experience and seasoned van drivers who typically protect their vans with commercial vehicle insurance. The company will target young drivers in the hope of educating them from an early age while they hope fleet operators and haulage companies will put safety before financial gain when it comes to tyre longevity.

Stuart Jackson, the chairman of Tyresafe, said “Young motorists are a particular important target audience as they are still in their formative driving years and what they take on board at an early age could stay with them for the rest of their motoring lives. With professional drivers the emphasis is totally different. Tight procedures should be put in place by all businesses, large or small, that operate cars, vans, light commercial vehicles and HGVs to ensure they regularly check the condition of their fleet’s tyres. It’s also the responsibility of individual drivers to routinely check their tyres and take any appropriate action.”

There is no doubt that in tight financial situations paying £400-500 for a new set of tyres can put fantastic strain on household or even business budgets. It is however, a false economy not to bite the bullet, and drivers are much better advised to take their vans off the road until they can afford new tyres rather than to carry on with tyres that are unsafe and illegal.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, safety, Tyre, Tyresafe, van drivers
Posted in commercial vehicle insurance, van insurance | No Comments »

Lucky escape for driver who ignored warning signs

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Police in Scotland have this week released CCTV footage showing what happens when commercial drivers ignore traffic signs.

The footage will make every van and lorry driver in the UK shudder when they see just how fortunate the driver and other motorists have been. The incident took place on the Forth Bridge on December the 28th but has only just been released by the police. On the day in question the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) had closed the bridge to all traffic but cars, due to storm force winds that were making driving conditions almost impossible. The Met Office had advised FETA that conditions would remain the same for the coming hours and in fact other bridges in Scotland were forced to close completely.

The signs were clearly visible but the lorry driver obviously thought he knew better. The CCTV clearly shows the wind “grabbing” hold of the vehicle and tipping the trailer to one side, the lorry rights itself only for another gust of wind to tip the trailer the other way, the driver loses control of the vehicle and hits the central reservation and then amazingly a blast of wind actually blows the trailer back to an upright position and allows the driver to continue on his way. Behind him cars are slewed all over the road as they brake to avoid running into the unstable lorry. Fortunately police officers and bridge authorities were waiting on the other side of the bridge to arrest the driver.

A spokesman for FETS said: “The clip shows quite clearly why restrictions are necessary in high winds. It was lucky that no-one was killed or injured, and if they had been, the driver’s van insurance would have been invalidated. It is a good demonstration of what can happen when drivers ignore instructions.”

Tags: CCTV, Forth Estuary Transport Authority, safety, Scotland, Traffic signals, van insurance
Posted in commercial vehicle insurance, van insurance | No Comments »

Workers continue to escape driving bans by using loophole

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Two commercial van drivers from Leeds are still legally driving on the roads of the United Kingdom despite having clocked up 27 and 28 points respectively on their licences. This is despite the maximum number of points before a ban is imposed being for most drivers 12pts.

Driving charity Brake worked with a vehicle insurance company and found that around 44% of motorists who get to 12 points or more on their licence are not being banned. In Leeds one driver who has 27 points for offences including speaking on a mobile phone and driving without insurance is still holding a licence, and another who has 28 points for offences such as speeding, using a mobile and dangerous driving is also still driving his vehicle lawfully.

Brake claim that motorists are increasingly escaping a ban by claiming it would cause them exceptional hardship. By saying a ban would be detrimental to their livelihood they are more than likely given a fine instead of getting the usual six-month ban. Drivers with commercial van insurance obviously fall under this category but the road safety charity believe magistrates are being too tolerant. The Charity has called on the Coalition to stop people using this loophole to make sure that more motorists who reach 12 points are given the correct punishment.

Julie Townsend, Brake campaigns director, said “Clearly when the points system was designed, it wasn’t intended that nearly half of drivers with 12 points would evade disqualification. It is outrageous these individuals, who rack up offence after offence, are allowed to continue driving, causing enormous risk to the public. Drivers who repeatedly flout traffic laws have shown complete disregard for the lives of other road users. They have also had ample opportunity to desist breaking the law before reaching 12 points and facing disqualification.”

Tags: commercial van insurance, crime, Motorists, safety, van drivers, vehicle insurance company
Posted in commercial vehicle insurance, van insurance | No Comments »

Increase in the number of drivers letting MOT expire

Monday, September 12th, 2011

New research from Kwik Fit has revealed that over a third of vehicle owners are not booking their MOT in advance. As a result of this they are in serious danger of not being able to drive because their MOT has expired.

The high total includes a number of vans which are covered by commercial vehicle insurance that have been off the road for repairs causing their owners to forget about the essential certificate. In many cases the owners find themselves out of pocket when they cannot carry out their day to day jobs because their vehicle is banned from the highway. There are also 1 million private car owners who are choosing the last minute to get the MOT renewed. Kwit Fit feels that with money tight, more and more people are trying to stretch the budgets as far as possible and this includes letting time elapse to maximise the longevity of the certificate.

Worryingly, police data shows that as many as 10% of cars on United Kingdom roads may not have a valid MOT. While some motorists are of the opinion that the MOT and searching for van insurance quotes are an inconvenience, the MOT test is crucial to the safety of every driver. Almost 40% of all vehicles fail the yearly test with an average of three problems so it is no wonder there are concerns over the Coalitions plans to change the test to every two years.

David White, customer services director at Kwik Fit, said “If car owners are used to their car regularly passing the MOT with no problems, they may view an MOT simply as a piece of paper they need in order to get their car taxed. However, the statistics show that the test plays a vital role in identifying defects on a car that render it un-roadworthy and unsafe to drive. It also provides a warning of items which will shortly become unsafe by highlighting them as ‘advisory’. This allows owners to rectify defects before they cause a problem, enabling them to drive with confidence in the safety of their car.”

With police forces throughout the United Kingdom now using cameras to scan number plates and then cross checking them to the national vehicle database, any driver who does forget to renew their MOT will be in for a rude awakening in the form of a hefty fine.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, crime, MOT, safety, van insurance quotes
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Post Office vans making pedestrians see red

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Post Office vans are one of the best loved and most familiar sites on the roads of the UK. However, residents of a Lancashire town are claiming the drivers of the vans are causing a safety hazard in the town centre.

Residents of Darwen say the Post Office vans are being parked dangerously on a busy thoroughfare in the town and in some cases are even chancing nullifying their commercial vehicle insurance by parking on the pavement and on double yellow lines. They claim that the parking situation is causing pedestrians to walk into the main road and risk injury from oncoming vehicles and have demanded the Post Office reprimand the drivers.

A spokesman for the Post Office defended the drivers saying: “Our staff always aims to park their vehicles safely and to minimise the disruption to other road users and pedestrians. It is necessary to sometimes park the vehicles directly outside Darwen Delivery Office for short periods of time whilst they are loaded and unloaded. Our staff aim to carry out this work as quickly as possible to minimise the disruption.”

A local councillor confirmed that complaints had been made about the vans and said the matter would be discussed by the planning and highways committee next week. In the meantime the danger to the public continues and one resident thinks next week may be too late.

Councillor Russell Rickard said: “That is a bad bend with double yellow lines, and yet every day I see Post Office vans parked there, obstructing the way. It’s getting beyond a joke – it’s so blatant. It’s by a busy pedestrian crossing and pavement and is forcing people to walk into the road and someone’s going to end up getting squashed.”

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, pedestrians, post office, safety, vans
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Court goes easy on speeding motorist in order to save jobs

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

A motorist has avoided a driving ban despite being caught by police officers travelling at more than double the speed limit along the A64. Drainage worker Stephen Shaw was stopped by police while driving a Vauxhall Movano van at 88mph on a 40mph stretch of road.

The Magistrates’ Court was told how Mr Shaw had been cautioned at the roadside by officers and he admitted the offence. He owned up to what he conceded was a stupid piece of driving and acknowledged that ignorance of the speed limit on the road he was travelling was no defence.

He told the court that he was the owner of a deep drainage company who did work around the Yorkshire area and had recently taken on extra work further north in the Middlesbrough area. If he was to lose his driving licence he would have to lay off some of his staff. He explained to the court that even though all his workers are licensed to drive the firms vans which are covered by cheap van insurance, only he and one other member of his staff are licensed to drive the three-and-a-half tonne vehicles which are vital to the future of his business.

Magistrate Mr Brian Wood said: “Sentencing guidelines recommend that you should be facing a ban because the speeding offence was more than 30mph over the limit. However, I have decided that due to the circumstances I will on this occasion show leniency, but if you are caught again, you will be looking at a much longer ban.”

Mr Shaw was given six points on his licence, and ordered to pay a £273 fine, £48 costs, a £15 victim surcharge, as well as hit on his van insurance quotes. He says he will be much more careful in the future because both his business and his staff will suffer if he is caught again. He is also giving his drivers training to make sure they are aware of speeds limits while driving a company vehicle.

Tags: cheap van insurance, safety, Speeding, van drivers
Posted in commercial vehicle insurance | No Comments »