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

  • Pupil power used in uncompromising school zone speeding initiative
    January 31, 2012
    In a unique and hard-hitting speed reduction initiative, primary schoolchildren across Carmarthenshire, in Wales, have been targeting drivers who drive too fast near their schools.
    Read More
  • ITS Australia appoints new president and board of directors
    November 27, 2017
    ITS Australia has announced Dean Zabrieszach will be replacing Brian Negus as its new president, supported by Dennis Walsh as vice president, and has also confirmed a new board of directors. New and re-elected board members include Dale Andrea – VicRoads, Chen Cai – Data61/ The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, James Hurnall – Federal Chambers of Automotive Industries, Mark Jackman – Robert Bosch Australia, Mark Jackman – Robert Bosch Australia and Jeff McCarthy
    Read More
  • The downside of driverless vehicles
    October 27, 2016
    Driverless cars will have a detrimental effect on congestion and security while the road safety benefits can be achieved sooner and cheaper using ADAS, argues Colin Sowman. Many Governments are consulting about the introduction of driverless vehicles and even running trials. As 70% or 80% of crashes are caused by human error, the promise of a crash-free future of driverless, self-driving or autonomous vehicles (call them what you will) is alluring, as are the claims of reduced congestion and lower emissions
    Read More
  • Rear-view cameras ‘more effective than parking sensors’
    March 14, 2014
    Rear cameras are more effective than parking sensors at helping drivers avoid objects while travelling in reverse, but they don't help in every situation, a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study shows. The study, conducted with volunteer drivers in an empty parking lot in the Los Angeles area, indicates that cameras would help prevent more reversing crashes into pedestrians in the vehicle's blind zone than parking sensors. Surprisingly, cameras by themselves worked better than sensors a
    Read More

Highlighted Content