The driver, named Paul, is said to have taken to a layby when he felt a migraine was about to start. He ended up spending the night parked at the layby, but as he slept, he was charged by officers for not having his lights on.
The incident occured not long after the first coronavirus lockdown, but it took over two years for the case to reach court. At the hearing last Friday, it was ruled that Paul had breached the Road Traffic Act 1988.
As reported by Devon Live, Paul pleaded not guilty. However, the court found him guilty, and as a consequence, he was discharged conditionally for half a year. In addition, he was mandated to pay prosecution costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £22.
Speaking to Devon Live, Paul said that he had “never been made aware” of the law and maintained that it is no longer necessary due to the reflective strips that are on the back of trailers nowadays.
The lorry driver, who has 24 years of experience in his profession, told Devon Live:
“I can’t get my head around it. I was off the road and no danger to anybody. I now know it is a law but you’ve only got to drive around and there are hundreds of lorries parked up with no lights on. I see some European lorry drivers parked on hard shoulders and farmers with tractors parking under bridges on the M25 with no lights on. It’s a crazy, stupid law. Back in the 1980s when a trailer had one measly light bulb at the back on each side it might have made sense. Today the manufacture of units and trailers is so much more advanced. There are reflective strips on the side and the back. A lorry has 25 or 30 different lights on it. If I leave them on the battery won’t sustain it and it will be flat in the morning.”
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