July 2013, Another Tipper Truck

[jefmcg]

Lorry driver banned from the roads five times admits jumping red light and killing cyclist

A lorry driver with a “cavalier lack of respect” for the law is facing jail for killing a cyclist after jumping a red light — as another rider died in London today.

Trucker Barry Meyer, 53, had been banned from the road five times and was not licensed to be driving the tipper lorry that crushed Alan Neve to death at Holborn in 2013.

He yesterday admitted causing death by careless driving
[..]
Meyer’s view of Mr Neve, who had the right of way, was blocked by a toilet roll and sat-nav holder on his dashboard.

CCTV footage from Meyer’s lorry and other vehicles showed how he drove through a red light in Procter Street and stopped the lorry in a yellow box junction in High Holborn, before advancing through heavy traffic on to Mr Neve.
[..]
Besides his past convictions for driving while drunk and disqualified, he had others for assault, criminal damage and drug possession.

 

[glenn forger]

I doubt he could have got insurance for that record. So he didn't bother.

 

[Dan B]

"careless". Although I suppose we should be thankful the police even bothered passing the file onto CPS

 

[glenn forger]

This is a sick joke. The legal system Have decided that ignoring traffic lights while driving uninsured in a vehicle you are not even qualified to drive and Killing someone is just "careless". Careless is dropping a cup or missing the waste paper basket. Who employed this driver? Why is that ignored? Who paid this drivers wages? What checks did they run? What London company employs drivers without even bothering to check his driving record? WHO EMPLOYED THIS DRIVER?

 

[Dan B]

'In December 1997, he was convicted of drink-driving for which he was disqualified for 18 months.

'In July 1998, he was convicted of driving while disqualified, which he had committed in June, just six months after his disqualification.

'In December 2004, he was convicted of driving a lorry with a skip which carrying a dangerous load, in other words was overloaded; displaying a tax disc which did not match the registration of the vehicle; driving without the appropriate operator's license for the vehicle.

'In May 2007, he was again convicted of driving with excess alcohol and disqualified for 36 months which would be reduced to 27 months if he undertook a driving course.

'In July 2007, he was convicted of driving a van whilst disqualified and give a further 12 month disqualification.

'In September 2008, he was stopped, driving whiles disqualified, a 7.5 tonne lorry. He gave the police a false name because he knew he was both driving whilst disqualified and driving with no insurance; he was disqualified for a further period of 14 months.'

In addition, he has previous convictions for assault, criminal damage and drug possession.

wtf? http://courtnewsuk.co.uk/?news_id=40464

 

[gavintc]

I propose this exactly what the Traffic Commisioner should be doing - calling the operator to account. He has significant powers and can remove or restrict the O licence.

 

[jefmcg]

Surely there should come a point where someone who refuses to accept a driving ban by keeping driving, they have to do something else? This man is a terrible driver, and terrible human being, yet they kept applying the same ineffectual punishment on him until the inevitable happened, to Alan Neve and his friends and family's incalculable loss. Forgot about justice or anything else: if driving bans don't keep someone like this off the road, surely it is time for incarceration - just to give the rest of us a chance.

And I also hope his family sues whoever put him at the wheel of the truck without so much as requiring sight of a valid and suitable license.

 

[Pale Rider]

Surely there should come a point where someone who refuses to accept a driving ban by keeping driving, they have to do something else? This man is a terrible driver, and terrible human being, yet they kept applying the same ineffectual punishment on him until the inevitable happened, to Alan Neve and his friends and family's incalculable loss. Forgot about justice or anything else: if driving bans don't keep someone like this off the road, surely it is time for incarceration - just to give the rest of us a chance.

And I also hope his family sues whoever put him at the wheel of the truck without so much as requiring sight of a valid and suitable license.

Driving while disqualified is an offence, like so many others, which criminals often repeat.

This driver's previous convictions are not clear, but it appears he has three for drive disqualified and two for drink driving, which is an automatic ban.

That would accord with the prosecutor's remark that he is a 'five times disqualified driver'.

We also do not know the sentences he served for those offences.

Drive disqualified is a maximum six months, and it may be he served a couple of short stretches in prison for the drive disqualified convictions.

No one likes going to prison, but the prospect of six months max - out in three - is no deterrent to the determined repeat offender.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

I'd imagine he spent plenty of days behind the wheel with no problems. It's probably very easy to convince yourself that you aren't going to be caught the more times you do something without being caught. Even easier if you're comfortably on the sociopath scale.

 

[Pale Rider]

I'd imagine he spent plenty of days behind the wheel with no problems. It's probably very easy to convince yourself that you aren't going to be caught the more times you do something without being caught. Even easier if you're comfortably on the sociopath scale.

Quite so.

A lot of repeat convictions are achieved by observant local policing, a copper sees chummy - who he knows to be disqualified - driving again.

If I wanted to commit this offence, I cannot think of a better place than a big city where I am not known to do it.

Even if one of the Met's many thousands of officers happens to know this driver and happens to be in the same place at the same time, he is much harder to identify perched high up in a lorry cab.

 

[Pale Rider]

Whereas his employers should know him and, in this instance, should have known not to be.

No argument there, his complete disregard for the rule of law is matched by the employer.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Maybe he employed himself behind his own limited company...

http://companycheck.co.uk/director/905339070/MR-BARRY-ERIC-MEYER

GC

 

[J1888]

No legal basis for this, but my opinion is that he should get life.

 

[J1888]

You might be a teensy bit disappointed.

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath. He should get life though (IMO).

 

[Dan B]

Unearthing an old thread. After the Drummonds had their O Licences revoked:

The Drummond saga may not end there. According to the cycling charity CTC, in November 2014, a Hayley Caroline Drummond applied to set up a new operator, HCD London, based at an address near to that of AJ Drummond, which was granted in March 2015. CTC has alerted the Traffic Commissioner, so that he can investigate whether they are linked.

This morning, on Chelsea Bridge:

View: https://twitter.com/xhonor/status/912970362794790913