A trucker in Italy nearly crashed into a police car after accidentally crossing into the opposite lane while checking his mobile. The driver received a fine of €381 plus 6 penalty points, and was ordered to get his lorry’s MOT revised.
The incident, reported on ilrestodelcarlino.it, happened in Italy’s Emilia region last week.
The lorry driver, as a result of checking his mobile while driving, accidentally veered into the opposite lane of the road and nearly crashed into a police car that was heading towards him. Thanks to the fast reaction of the police officer, an accident was avoided.
When the officers then stopped and checked the driver, they also found that the lorry’s airbag wasn’t working due to a former accident.
The 48-year-old driver from Mantua was fined for violating the Highway Code with 381 euros, six penalty points, and and order to get the lorry’s MOT revised.
As local paper Resto del Carlino points out, getting distracted while driving is one of the main causes of skids and accidents. Since the beginning of the year in the Reggio area, roadside police checks have caught 125 drivers using their mobile phones while driving.
Eleven of these drivers had their driving licenses suspended for a month, as they had already committed the same offence in the last two years. This results in not only receiving penalty points but also a penalty of €165 euros.
Photo credit @ Gianni Franco/ Wikimedia Commons