The video shows that a dangerously cutting in front of the HGV on the A4146, near Milton Keynes Village in Buckinghamshire. The driver of the Ford Focus recklessly attempted to make an illegal left turn from the outside lane of the road down the wrong way of a slip lane, missing the commercial vehicle by a matter of centimetres.
A major collision was only averted by the quick thinking of the HGV driver who works for WS Transportation. The high-definition video footage shows the HGV driving safely and well within the speed limit approaching the junction as the car swerves into its path to make the illegal turn, forcing the HGV to rapidly reduce its speed to avoid an impact.
David Cox, managing director of WS Transportation, commented: ‘Dangerous driving such as this is a major risk not only to the vehicle responsible but also to other road users. Drivers need to take greater responsibility on the road, especially around heavy goods vehicles. Our driver’s quick reactions here helped to prevent a serious crash, but if our truck had hit the third party in the rear then the burden would have been on us to prove that they were at fault – this is where the use of cameras are proving to be invaluable.’
Nick Plowman, chief operating officer of Intelligent Telematics, said: ‘An increasing number of vehicle operators are using our 3G forward facing vehicle cameras to monitor accidents and other harsh driving events in real-time to establish who is at fault and identify any areas of improvement within their fleets. Footage is sent almost immediately to a web-based interface with real-time email and SMS alerts, so a triggered event can be viewed within minutes of it occurring.’
