Angry van driver makes rude hand gestures at lorry and instantly regrets it

Police said the man had been travelling along the motorway when he started making the rude signals at the HGV

Ryan Fahey News Reporter 19:38, 12 Oct 2025

A van driver quickly regretted his actions after making "obscene hand gestures" at a HGV. Police reported that the man was travelling along the M1 when he began making the offensive signals at the passing vehicle.

However, he was unaware police officers were in fact riding inside as part of a road safety operation.

The man was subsequently stopped by a nearby police car and given a verbal warning along with some advice.

He was also fined separately for not wearing a seatbelt while driving.

PC Pearce Riley commented: "[While] 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."

During the Nottinghamshire Police's four-day operation, 50 motorists were fined, reports the Mirror[1].

This follows an incident where over 10,000 drivers were hit with fines on Tuesday after falling foul of new rules.

Motorists in Gloucestershire faced immediate penalties, with a shocking 13,000 prosecuted for speeding through the A417 Missing Link roadworks.

National Highways delivered a serious warning that fatalities could occur on the A417 unless motorists reduce their speed and comply with the 40mph limit imposed during current construction work.

Celine Acard, Senior Project Manager for National Highways, stressed: "Safety is our number one priority.

Tens of thousands of people use these sections of the A417 every day but for the sake of shaving an extra minute or two off their journey times some drivers are putting their own safety and the safety of our roadworkers at risk.

"Our staff and contractors are working around the clock to complete this project as quickly as possible, and they're entitled to do that safely without the threat of being maimed or killed by someone recklessly speeding through the roadworks."

References

1. ^ the Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)