A DELIVERY driver seen repeatedly swerving across two busy Cumbrian roads while eating his lunch at the wheel has been sentenced by a judge.
The passenger of a vehicle travelling behind 50-year-old Alexander Douglas in wet weather on the morning of January 12 was so concerned by his bad driving that she began taking mobile phone footage.
This was played at Carlisle Crown Court today (FRI) and featured audible gasps of horror from the eyewitness as Douglas’ Mercedes Sprinter van swerved wildly on both the A595 and A66 near Cockermouth.
On several occasions the van – boasting a “rate my driving” sticker – veered almost completely into the opposite carriageway as oncoming traffic, including an HGV, approached.
When stopped by police, Douglas, of Ware Road, Glasgow, told officers he was “eating yoghurt and a wee cake” during his journey. He admitted dangerous driving, claiming to have been stressed by an “unrelenting schedule” and not having time to stop and eat – but conceded it had been a “stupid error of judgement”.
Judge James Adkin ordered Douglas to complete 100 hours’ unpaid work, banned him from driving for a year and told him to take an extended re-test. “You would have thought most people would understand that eating your lunch and driving a delivery van at speed and in poor weather were incompatible – not you,” said Judge Adkin.
“The consequences of the way you drove could have been absolutely dreadful.”
