M1 van driver makes obscene hand gestures at HGV before realising mistake

A van driver was pulled over on the M1[1] after mistakenly making a number of obscene hand gestures at police[2] officers. The incident occurred while the man was travelling along the motorway on Friday morning (October 3). He started gesticulating at the occupants of a passing HGV, without realising that police officers were in it.

Nottinghamshire Police's roads policing team[3] was using the lorry as part of a regular road safety operation. This aimed to use the cab's elevated position to spot a range of potentially dangerous offences, including people using their mobile phones while driving.

The unsuspecting driver was pulled over by a police car and spoken to at the roadside. The apologetic man was fined and sent on his way by police after they reminded him to mind his manners behind the wheel.

PC Pearce Riley, of Nottinghamshire Police[4], said: "Whilst this incident understandably caused some amusement among the team, the potential consequences of not wearing a seatbelt really are no laughing matter.

"Had this man been involved in a motorway collision, his chances of walking away uninjured--or even walking away at all--would have been greatly reduced.

"And that's why we do these operations: not to catch people out, but to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our road network."

References

1. ^ the M1 (www.nottinghampost.com)
2. ^ police (www.nottinghampost.com)
3. ^ Nottinghamshire Police's roads policing team (www.nottinghampost.com)
4. ^ PC Pearce Riley, of Nottinghamshire Police (www.nottinghampost.com)