HGV driver jailed for crash whilst using phone - recorded on his own dashcam

[TonyM]

HGV driver jailed for 10 years after causing multiple fatalities when driving into a line of stationary vehicles at 80km/h His own dashcam shows him scrolling through music on his phone at the time of the incident.

Full story and dashcam clip on BBC News

 

[Module 79L]

To think this case will make phone users think twice before using their phones again while driving is just wishful thinking. Smartphones are a drug, its users are just like any other drug addict and should be treated as such.

 

[kamkar]

The Danish "kid" that did the same ( at least crash in the same way ) was out driving the next week and are still driving.
Lucky for him none of my family was there cuz then he would have gotten what he deserved a long time ago.

What even sentence that guy got after killing several people by ramming his truck at full speed into stopped traffic is a insult to my intellect.

I am also sure that the future will look back at this time and have some fancy name for all the phone addicts out there, and i am sure i as a Dane have to fund the treatment of those people via our public healthcare system.
And i am sure the people that was supposed to know and do something will be saying " we dident know"

I dont think so much its the phones them self that do it, its what people and society tell them / allow them to do with those phones.
Personally i dont get why the hell any one would use things like facebook and twitter, even when things like that was new and we dident really know what those companies would turn into i was not interested.
Perhaps this is due to the way i think a person should interact with friends, but then again i also have the same " internet friends" like people have on facetwitt, but it seem like i am much more able to keep the 2 apart as they should be.

For a IRL friend i would do just about anything at any time, for a internet friend i can only do what little i can do on my keybord, and what else go on in his life dont have my interest.
ATM im in the middle of a panic situation as my little sister have some problems with her youngest kid, it frustrate the living hell out of me i cant do much for her / them in that regard.
But i am after all just the big brother & uncle to the 2 persons, and having no experience with children or such all i can do is make sure the 2 in question are welcome to ask me anything.

 

[Module 79L]

I dont think so much its the phones them self that do it, (...)

Let's not kid ourselves or try to make up excuses. Ultimately it's the device and its hability to "connect" users to the virtual world. With the opening of new possibilities, the "drug dealers" (i.e., app developpers) keep creating new "drugs" to keep the addicts even more smartphone-dependent.

 

[Gibson99]

Let's not kid ourselves or try to make up excuses. Ultimately it's the device and its hability to "connect" users to the virtual world. With the opening of new possibilities, the "drug dealers" (i.e., app developpers) keep creating new "drugs" to keep the addicts even more smartphone-dependent.

gee this sounds familiar...

a gun sitting on a table or in a holster won't kill anyone/anything until a PERSON picks it up and pulls the trigger.

food sitting on a table or in the fridge won't make anyone fat till a PERSON picks it up and stuffs their face with it.

a phone sitting on a table or in a purse/pocket won't distract anyone until a PERSON picks it up and starts using it.

people need to take responsibility for their actions. as with everything else in life, there's a time and a place for any activity. you don't look at porn at work because you don't want to get fired. you don't talk loudly at church or at the library because it's distracting/rude to other people there. and you don't mess with your phone while driving because THIS can happen.

 

[DT MI]

gee this sounds familiar...

a gun sitting on a table or in a holster won't kill anyone/anything until a PERSON picks it up and pulls the trigger.

food sitting on a table or in the fridge won't make anyone fat till a PERSON picks it up and stuffs their face with it.

a phone sitting on a table or in a purse/pocket won't distract anyone until a PERSON picks it up and starts using it.

people need to take responsibility for their actions. as with everything else in life, there's a time and a place for any activity. you don't look at porn at work because you don't want to get fired. you don't talk loudly at church or at the library because it's distracting/rude to other people there. and you don't mess with your phone while driving because THIS can happen.

Well said. I just don't understand why it's become socially unacceptable to point out someone's shortcomings/faults and expect them to correct them, but rather it's become the trend to shift the blame and make them victims instead.

 

[Module 79L]

a gun sitting on a table or in a holster won't kill anyone/anything until a PERSON picks it up and pulls the trigger.

food sitting on a table or in the fridge won't make anyone fat till a PERSON picks it up and stuffs their face with it.

a phone sitting on a table or in a purse/pocket won't distract anyone until a PERSON picks it up and starts using it.

If none of those things create an addiction, a PERSON won't get addicted to them.

 

[dash riposki]

It's not just electronic distractions.


I saw a car with two occupants in the front seat doing some extreme hand gestures a few weeks ago. The driver was wandering in his lane quite a bit, and turning to face the other person while driving, and moving arms and hands wildly. The passenger was doing the same.
At first I thought they were 'dancing' in the car.

I watched a while and as I managed to pass them I realized they were having a violent argument......in sign language!

 

[TonyM]

Mobile phones exist. We can't ignore that. They are legal to buy. There's no licence required to use one.

What the authorities can do is create laws and guidelines for the safe use of mobile phones in certain situations, such as driving. Here in the UK it is illegal to use a hand held mobile phone whilst driving. Plus there is a wider regulation 'driving without due care and attention', which would cover being distracted by other hand held devices, or even fiddling with a screen mounted dashcam.

If people are prepared to flaunt those laws, I think it's only fair that their licence to drive is revoked.

 

[Gibson99]

Mobile phones exist. We can't ignore that. They are legal to buy. There's no licence required to use one.

What the authorities can do is create laws and guidelines for the safe use of mobile phones in certain situations, such as driving. Here in the UK it is illegal to use a hand held mobile phone whilst driving. Plus there is a wider regulation 'driving without due care and attention', which would cover being distracted by other hand held devices, or even fiddling with a screen mounted dashcam.

If people are prepared to flaunt those laws, I think it's only fair that their licence to drive is revoked.

there are similar laws in most US states and "1st world" countries as well, at the very least pertaining to "distracted driving" or something similar. they may have been originally enacted because of things like people playing with the stereo, having an argument with a passenger, yelling at the kids, trying to give a baby in the back seat its bottle, looking at a map, reading a book, etc etc... way before personal devices were common. heck, even before cell phones built into cars were common.

@Module 79L - if they have an addiction, it needs to be acknowledged and treated, just like any other addition. there are already electronics anonymous groups all over the place.

and to bring a lighter tone to this thread (note the date at the bottom)...

 

[DT MI]

If none of those things create an addiction, a PERSON won't get addicted to them.

Sorry but THINGS don't create addictions - PEOPLE abusing and misusing things create addictions.

Another example of trying to (erroneously) categorize a criminal as a victim. You might as well blame the discovery of fire as the cause of arson instead of (correctly) blaming the arsonist for misusing it.

 

[kamkar]

Hello my name is Brian, and among other things i am a Dashcam addict

Its not the camera that do it, its the fact that i now tell myself i cant go driving without a camera on my windscreen.
And every time i am in a car with no dashcam, the first thing i think is " there should be a dashcam here"

 

[Kip]

Pretty disgusting this. The driver has basically got 2 and a half years sentance per life he has taken. But that's not the worst of it. In 5 years he could be back out and have his freedom back, providing he behaves while in prison and doesn't commit another crime. He'll then be able to apply for a driving license again, assuming it was took off him, I hope it was.

So yeah, if you want to (almost) get away with mass murder, do it in a motor vehcile and UK law will simply give you a slap on the wrist. Sentances are so pathetic in this country, it's hard to believe we used to hang people in the streets for way lesser stuff. Capital punishment only stopped in the 1960's, how did it get to this?

 

[Module 79L]

He should be banned from driving for life. That way he would hopefully be run over by a bus the next time he crosses a street while trying to find music on his smartphone.

 

[sludgeguts]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...st-300-motorists-banned-crime-four-years.html

ANY driver spotted using their phone whilst driving should be taken off the road with immediate effect. Hopefully, lorry drivers having to walk home & their companies losing money for goods not delivered or recovering impounded lorries might see a few of these clowns unemployed - leaving more jobs available for those who respect the rules of the road.

 

[kamkar]

I think if you was able to look at what it actually is people do with their phones while driving, you will find that most of what they do is totally unrelated BS like commenting that picture of a cupcake some "friend" put on instagram, and similar stupid stuff.
And if you as a human cant filter stuff like that out while you are operating a vehicle, then i really dont think you should be allowed to operate any vehicle.

I for one think there is plenty in traffic to deal with just relating to the bad decisions thats being made in traffic every day, just last night i was passed in a place where 2 lanes merge into 1 land by a woman forcing her way thru into the small gap i had to the car in front of me, and the insane woman was carrying her child on the back seat.
I had to stomp my brake so she dident cause a crash

FF to 1:08 if you cant be bothered with a minute of footage of a semi with bad lane choice.

 

[Sunny]

Tools do matter. If this driver had plain old phone with one line dot matrix phone, he wouldn't be tempted use it often.
It's impossible to evaluate every single person on daily basis.
Of course it's driver's fault but that's not going to bring the deads back to life.

Blaming vs preventing, latter is important.

A lot of people get killed with a hammer and screw driver but banks and restaurants don't ban them, they ban firearms because they are easy tools to do it.
Food on table don't make anyone fat but 90% people will eat more cake/chocolates or at least try vs steamed broccoli so what's available matters. It's not possible to evaluate all.
When you have easy access to Internet, video, music, news, etc... in your fingertips, you'll be tempted to use it.
Texting is banned here but almost everyone uses them, some a lot and some occasionally while driving. I see drivers using cellphone even when they are turning in a turn lane. It's a disease but it's impossible to evaluate each driver whether he/she will use phone while driving on a daily basis.
Texters/browsers kill 100's everyday and it's their fault and we can blame our hearts' contents.
Human mind is easily tempted when there are options so even though blame goes to users, tools do make how easily the job gets done.
Blaming the driver and sending him to jail is all fine and dandy but that doesn't do anything to prevent it from millions of other drivers. That's the real problem no matter how many go to jail.