Devon lorry driver’s anger at ‘hidden’ parking law that landed him in court
A lorry driver has slammed a ‘crazy’ traffic law that landed him in court for not having his lights switched on in a layby. Paul Down pulled over at a safe spot after feeling a migraine coming on.
Two months later he received a ticket for switching his lights off while he slept. He ended up before a district judge at the magistrates court in Exeter for breaching the Road Traffic Act 1988.
The case took more than two years to come to court. At the time of the offence Paul was one of the legion of lockdown HGV drivers ‘keeping the nation moving’ by making vital deliveries during the first weeks of Covid.
In 24 years of driving HGVs Paul, aged 60, says he has never been made aware that parking in a layby without lights illuminated was illegal. He says the law, passed in 1989, is out of date and does not take account of the number of reflective strips modern lorries have or the inevitable drain on the engine’s battery.
He says thousands of lorry drivers up and down the land unwittingly break the traffic law every day by not having their lights on when parked.
He said: “In 24 years since passing my test I and other drivers have never been informed of this law and huge companies have never informed me or any transport manager either. You’re told many important rules about lorry driving but I was never told about this one.”
He says the law allows a driver to park with lights off on a 30mph road, effectively blocking one lane, but not a driver who stops safely in a layby.
“I can’t get my head around it,” he says. “I was off the road and no danger to anybody. I now know it is a law but you’ve only got to drive around and there are hundreds of lorries parked up with no lights on. I see some European lorry drivers parked on hard shoulders and farmers with tractors parking under bridges on the M25 with no lights on.
“It’s a crazy, stupid law. Back in the 1980s when a trailer had one measly light bulb at the back on each side it might have made sense. Today the manufacture of units and trailers is so much more advanced. There are reflective strips on the side and the back.
“A lorry has 25 or 30 different lights on it. If I leave them on the battery won’t sustain it and it will be flat in the morning.
File picture of an HGV on a motorway (Image: PA)
Paul, from Tiverton[2], did not speak to a police officer at the time as he as asleep in his cabin. He had no knowledge he was doing anything wrong and there were further delays caused by documents being sent to the wrong address. He chose to contest the case, in part so that he could hear what the charge was about, and ended up in court last week – more than two years after he parked up.
The incident happened less than two weeks after the country went into Covid lockdown. At the time, lorries drivers were categorised as key workers, along with NHS staff and government officials, and there was much publicity about how vital it was to keep the country’s transport network moving.
Paul says lorry drivers are ‘easy pickings’ for over zealous law enforcement.
“Many haulage companies won’t pay for parking in services as its not the safest place to because of thefts and the expense of parking. I work hard, long unsociable hours in providing for my wife. I have been a freelance driver for many companies and through Covid we were in very high demand and working maximum hours to meet the demands.
“It beggars belief how petty all this is as I was parked safely off the road no burden to anyone. The law needs to change.”
Paul pleaded not guilty but was found guilty after a brief trial on June 2 prosecuted by North Yorkshire Police. He was discharged conditionally for six months, told to pay prosecution costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £22.
A spokesperson for North Devon Police said: “Road safety is high priority for North Yorkshire Police and we will take action when motorists break the law.”
Piers Morgan says Holly Willoughby will suffer same fate as Susanna Reid[3]
Holly Willoughby makes vow over Phillip Schofield after return to This Morning[4]
References
- ^ Charming Exeter café closes after 15 years (www.devonlive.com)
- ^ Tiverton (www.devonlive.com)
- ^ Piers Morgan says Holly Willoughby will suffer same fate as Susanna Reid (www.devonlive.com)
- ^ Holly Willoughby makes vow over Phillip Schofield after return to This Morning (www.devonlive.com)