Dangerous Driving

[lonedad]

I just want peoples opinion on this. I am to face a jury next week on the charge of dangerous driving. In 2007, I was involved in a RTA. I was driving an 18 tonne truck on a motorway where I was approaching a queue of traffic (some distance away, probably over 150 yards). I realised it was a queue for the next junction so decided to change lanes. I was sitting on cruise control at 56mph (top speed and speed limited) I looked in my drivers side mirror to check for traffic. . I then looked over to my blind spot, and pressed my brake to disengage the cruise control and then saw a car so I cancelled my intention to move over and pressed the brake again to slow the truck down. I noticed that my truck was not slowing at all and I pressed the brake again to no avail. I panicked thinking that my brakes had gone. The vehicle at the back of the queue (a white van) was getting nearer and nearer. I quickly checked the hard shoulder to see that it was clear. I then swerved my vehicle towards it. Unfortunatly, by this time, a car had replaced the van at the back of the queue (the van was in front of the car so obviously had jumped in front of me). I hit the car en route to the hard shoulder and my truck came to a stop 100 yards from the impact site. After checks on the truck, it was discovered that there were no faults. It dawned on me that I must have pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. 2 people were seriously hurt in the accident and, after a year, I was charged with Dangerous Driving. My solicitor advised me to plead not guilty but now Im not so sure. Ive been reading alot of reports on the internet that people are being done for this but others are having the lesser charge of Undue Care for the manner of driving that I believe is far worse than what I did. Is this dangerous driving? I believed that Dangerous Driving was an intentional act like reading a map, speeding, racing and being avoidably distracted as these are calculated risks that drivers take.

[lonedad]

Docspock - Its very easy to say what you would have done in a safe and unpressurised environement. But in the heat of things when decisions have to be made, the world looks like a different place.
Im glad I didnt mess about and hunt for the cause. i estimate that I had 10 to 15 seconds before I would have hit the vehicle in front of me which was the white van. I had that time to react (they say reaction time is upto 3 seconds) to the situation, check the hard shoulder and manourvere. If I did adjust my body and i then figured out my brakes were in fact not working, I would have been in a world of misery and things would have been alot worse. Its the one regret that I do not have, im glad I took the evasive action I did. On this occasion, acting first and asking questions later was the best action to take.

[whifffey]

It makes no difference Spock, you were driving with a video camera up to your eye, and presumably controlling the car one-handed. The results were entertaining at the time and you weren't on a motorway, but please lay off the holier-than-thou stuff.

[lonedad]

docspock - it does not matter what time and where the event took place, doing anything but driving is dangerous. You cannot come on here and slam me for making a mistake when you have in fact done something like intentionally. Sleepy village? Only takes someone in dark clothing to step out in front of you and BANG!!!! Theyre dead and youre doing 5 years for death by dangerous driving.
Your argument is totally flawed now. You just have a hatred of lorry drivers but you need to look at yourself in the mirror before chucking stones at me. It wouldnt matter if you knew where your brakes were because they wouldnt have helped you if you didnt see someone or something in front of you because your were messing about. What an idiot

[whifffey]

I've yet to see a lorry driver with a video camera held to his eye.

[whifffey]

Blue-tacked to the dashboard? It looked like eye-level to me. Repost, and if such is the case, I will readily apologise.

[lonedad]

Dont forget, eyes on the road and not on a camcorder. If a police officer pulled you over you would have been done.
Do not try and give me advice when you do stuff like that. At least I can say mine was a mistake. As for you, total and utter disregard for other peoples safety. Its you who deserves to be in court but its people like you that get lucky

[lonedad]

Thanks for that, ill see if I can pass that on to my local police station.

[knobbynonut5]

Don't say that I did not warn you then lonedad.
Dont take any notice of this internet pervert and stalker called whifffey and doc spocs Mrs was in the passenger seat taking the video that he whiffey is talking about.
So yet again he has lied on that.

Please lonedad take no notice of this idiot as he will only try to make things worse for you in the end.

He tries to lure you in and then gets his kicks by telling all sorts of lies and tries to mess with your mind as he gets his kicks like that on here.

[whifffey]

OK, I apologise.

[lonedad]

knobby - Im only here for advice...I just want constructive opinions.
Also, the driver was taking that video as the viewfinder is closer to the white lines. Its definately taken on the drivers side.

[whifffey]

lonedad, you will of course come to your own conclusions about knobbynonuts5. He has an excess of bodily hair and a very small brain.

Spock has mentioned that the camera was affixed to the dashboard.

[lonedad]

Doc - Grow up will you? I dont care where the camera was stuck, it was an avoidable distraction which can constitute as dangerous driving.
Take for instance the polish driver who wiped a family out. It was never proven that he was looking at his laptop but because of the evidence of the laptop being there, the driver got convicted of death by careless driving. If you had hurt or killed someone that day, regardless of whether you were concentrating on your camera, they would have used that against you and you would have been prosecuted. This makes you as bad, if not worse, than me. The difference is, I can own up to my faults. You think that is totally acceptable.
I am not saying in any shape or form that what is did was ok. I know without any shadow of a doubt that I messed up big time but my confusion is the charge. Was it Dangerous Driving or Undue Care and Attention? And I mean to the letter of the law, not your or anyone elses definition of those words. This is why I dont understand your harrassment and behaviour.

[knobbynonut5]

Yes I know this lonedad and I wish you the best in this.

All I am trying to say here is take no notice off whifffey as he will just make it worse for you in the end.
He is well known for doing this.

Anyway good luck and I like doc spock but I do not agree with what he said.
I have cruise control and to me the whole point of that is as you say taking your feet off the pedals and resting them.

But I must admit I do sometimes think that it could be very easy if you had to brake suddenly to misjudge.