Van driver banned for ignoring motorway incident road block

A van driver who ignored a Highways England road block on the UK’s M42 motorway has been banned from driving for six months. The case highlights the need for incident zone safety: the road block had been put in place by traffic officers following a fatal crash. Richard Leonard, head of road safety at Highways England, said: “We hope this case sends out an important message because those who ignore road closures put other people’s safety in jeopardy and this was clearly the case here for our traffic officers
October 18, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

A van driver who ignored a 8101 Highways England road block on the UK’s M42 motorway has been banned from driving for six months.

The case highlights the need for incident zone safety: the road block had been put in place by traffic officers following a fatal crash.

Richard Leonard, head of road safety at Highways England, said: “We hope this case sends out an important message because those who ignore road closures put other people’s safety in jeopardy and this was clearly the case here for our traffic officers.”

Carl Phillip Bloom drove his white Mercedes van around cones via the hard shoulder on 20 January last year to avoid the road closure between junctions 2 and 1 of the southbound M42

In addition to being disqualified by magistrates in Kidderminster, Bloom was fined £880 and ordered to pay £620 costs and a £44 victim surcharge. He also had three penalty points added to his licence.

Leonard added: “Any decision to close the motorway is not taken lightly, but when this happens, drivers must obey the closure. It’s there for the safety of everyone on the road – people in difficulty, recovery and emergency services helping them, and all other road users besides.”

By law, drivers must obey directions from uniformed traffic officers, who have the power to stop and direct traffic and close lanes and carriageways.

Failure to comply carries a fine of up to £1,000 along with possible driving licence endorsement or disqualification.

Enforcement

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Governments must look beyond short-term spending of public funds
    February 2, 2012
    Phil Pettitt, Chief Executive of innovITS, the UK's ITS Centre of Excellence, argues that governments need to look beyond the short-term when looking to pump-prime economic recovery with public funds. It seems, in the current economic climate, that a 'good' day is one in which no company is announcing job cuts or going into administration. Consumer demand is down and businesses are retrenching, cutting costs and fretting over the consequences of shrinking opportunities and order books. It has not been this
    Read More
  • SmartDrive launch new suite of sensors to tackle high-risk driving behaviour
    November 2, 2017
    SmartDrive Systems has introduced its SmartSense for Distracted Driving (SSDD), the first in a new line of intelligent sensors that are designed with the intention of identifying dangerous driving habits and intervening with drivers before a catastrophic event occurs. It uses computer vision-based algorithms along with SmartDrive’s video analytics platform to recognize when a driver is distracted.
    Read More
  • UK drivers may be banned from wearing Google Glass
    August 2, 2013
    The UK Department for Transport (DfT) may ban drivers from getting behind the wheel wearing Google Glass, the smart spectacles which act as a computer. A Department spokesman said: “It is important that drivers give their full attention to the road when they are behind the wheel and do not behave in a way that stops them from observing what is happening on the road. “A range of offences and penalties already exist to tackle those drivers who do not pay proper attention to the road including careless driving
    Read More
  • Ideagen software used by ConnectPlus for M25 project
    June 4, 2018
    UK technology company Ideagen's Coruson software will be utilised by ConnectPlus consortium to improve safety, quality and environmental processes for the renewal of the M25 motorway. Around 650 users will report into the quality management system. ConnectPlus is managing the 25-year phase of the Design, Build, Finance and Operate upgrade and maintenance project. The firm helps supervise subcontractors as well as provide maintenance work and small improvement schemes. Phillip Ross, head of health, sa
    Read More

Highlighted Content