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

Related Content

  • Putting the brakes on smart motorways
    February 28, 2022
    The UK government has announced that development of its all-lane running highways is going to be put on hold for another few years to assess safety data. Adam Hill finds out why
    Read More
  • McCann participates in M1 smart motorway scheme
    July 16, 2018
    Civil and electrical engineering firm McCann will help upgrade a 7.5 mile stretch of a major Midlands route as part of the M1 junction 23a – 25 smart motorway scheme. The project stems from an agreement with Highways England and is intended to reduce congestion and smooth the flow of traffic to improve travel times. Carl Lancaster, operations director for McCann, says: “The finished project will also help to minimise environmental impacts and maximise the capacity of the motorway while ensuring continued
    Read More
  • UN chief highlights road safety
    November 21, 2012
    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has highlighted the importance of road safety in preventing more than one million people from dying and many more from getting injured each year in traffic accidents. “This year, the world's roads have claimed some 1.2 million lives,” Mr. Ban said in his message marking World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. “Added to the fatalities are the more than 50 million people injured each year – many of them now condemned to enduring physical disabilities and psychologic
    Read More
  • Traffic monitoring and hard shoulder running
    March 1, 2013
    Hard shoulder running is on the increase – and the detection and monitoring of incidents on affected roads is occupying the minds of experts across Europe and the US
    Read More

Highlighted Content