Justice?

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It's incredibly rare for me to share my opinions on social media, but the following has really hit home today.

A truck driver has just been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving after he drove into the back of a young mothers' car at the Dartford river crossing, resulting in her death, because he was watching TV on his 'phone.
If this is not serious enough for you then read on :
He has twice previously been convicted of using a mobile phone whilst driving & had 12 penalty points on his licence, but had been allowed to continue driving due to 'extreme hardship' :censored:

I only hope the magistrates who didn't ban him for those 12 points & the haulage Co. who employed a driver with 12 points on his licence have that woman's death on their conscience for a very long time.
I freely admit, as a retired HGV/PSV driver myself, the injustice surrounding this case has brought tears to my eyes … thank you all for reading my thread.
 
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He's not the first and won't be the last truck driver to kill someone whilst distracted on his phone. Why is this more painful than a case where a driver killed a grandmother?
 
95% of people on here won’t be able to say they have done something they shouldn’t while driving which has distracted them. Lucky in most cases that split second hasn’t killed anyone but when you drive for a living the chances rise. While this is a sad story I don’t believe it’s these individuals who need a worse punishment, the whole system/technology needs to change.

You are saying the judge and haulage co are also responsible. How about the phone maker? Or vehicle manufacturer? They could do more to make sure devices are not used while driving.
 
I was surprised at both of your replies that show either we are not singing from the same hymn sheet or have very different viewpoints when it come to crime & punishment. What really stung me was the fact that this moron had not learnt (assuming he's actually got a fully developed brain) his lesson from TWO previous convictions stemming from the use of a mobile whilst driving, plus the incompetent magistrate(s) that had chosen not to enforce the automatic ban that follows the accumulation of 12 penalty point. When I was last driving HGV's (road tankers in my case) no employer would consider taking on anyone with more than a couple of points & it makes me wonder how (they) secured insurance cover for such a high risk driver. Suggesting that the 'phone manuf. should share in the blame is laughable, as is laying the blame on the truck manuf. At the end of the day this lame-brain was in control of the truck & consciously using the 'phone … I hope he serves as many of the 9 year sentence as the law dictates & is never again allowed to hold a licence to control anything more lethal than a lawnmower.
 
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Distraction from phone use when driving is rife, obviously the penalties for their use are not enough.

I'm retired, I used to drive a lot as part of my job, but when I can I leave the car in the garage and take the bus - why not, I have more time now? On the bus, I like to see where I am going, so I sit at the front, usually in sight of the driver. The antics they get up to whilst actually on the move driving surprises me - drinking, eating fruit, counting change, pushing buttons on the ticket machine - this with a bus full of passengers. Much of this is much worse than phone use and often in a busy built up areas.
 
He's not the first and won't be the last truck driver to kill someone whilst distracted on his phone. Why is this more painful than a case where a driver killed a grandmother?

WTF is your agenda here? Seriously, read back what you typed.
 
I managed to roll a cigarette up whilst driving once, I'm not proud of it and wouldn't dare do it now. When you're young you do these stupid things.
 
Distraction from phone use when driving is rife, obviously the penalties for their use are not enough. I'm retired, I used to drive a lot as part of my job, but when I can I leave the car in the garage and take the bus - why not, I have more time now? On the bus, I like to see where I am going, so I sit at the front, usually in sight of the driver. The antics they get up to whilst actually on the move driving surprises me - drinking, eating fruit, counting change, pushing buttons on the ticket machine - this with a bus full of passengers. Much of this is much worse than phone use and often in a busy built up areas.

I am retired too Harry, I'm afraid the driving standards of so-called professional drivers, both goods & passenger-carrying, are in decline & I have witnessed bus drivers using mobiles whilst driving a crowded bus. When I was last 'on the buses' several passenger complaints about a particular driver's poor driving would result in a covert check by a plain-clothes inspector & if he judged the complaints justified said driver would suffer the humiliation of a spell back at the company driving school alongside the trainees. I was shocked at the first replies to my post & suspect the authors are of a younger generation that consider today's standards as normal because they have never encountered anything better.
 
No idea. No one said it was. Why ask? What's your agenda?

So you must think I have an agenda for you to ask the question. I suggest you let your fecund conspiratorial little mind run wild.

There are many cases where people who should not be behind the wheel for numerous reasons cause accidents that end lives or cause life changing injuries.
 
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