Court hears HGV driver ‘crashed into house’ after ‘nodding off …

The driver of a Heavy Goods Vehicle which crashed into a house near the Leadburn junction has been allowed to keep his licence.

Selkirk Sheriff Court today (Thursday) heard a section of garden wall was destroyed when Michael Roger "nodded off" behind the wheel and lost control of his Scania truck on the A701 at Whim on January 31st last year.

The 35-year-old, from Carlisle, pled guilty to a charge of careless driving, was fined a total of £420 and had seven penalty points added to his licence.

But, passing sentence, Sheriff Peter Paterson warned Roger - who already had three penalty points on his driving licence - that one more offence would likely lead to an automatic disqualification under the totting-up procedure.

The court heard the people living in the house were woken by the smash, which happened around 4.40am - with the damage rendering the vehicle undriveable.

The Scania's tachograph showed Roger had only been driving for one hour and 38 minutes.

His solicitor, Ed Hulme, said his client lost his job as a result of the incident. He revealed Roger still works in the motor trade but had modified his driving habits so he no longer has to make journeys at that time in the morning.

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References

1. ^{^} Thieves escape with 7.5 tonne truck following latest raid on businesses along A68 corridor (planetradio.co.uk)
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