THE moment a brazen Eddie Stobart HGV driver uses his mobile phone whilst behind the wheel has been caught on camera.
The driver can clearly be seen holding the mobile with his right hand as he manoeuvres the 44-tonne truck at a busy junction and in heavy rain.
New laws come into force on March which will see penalties for using your phone at the wheel double, meaning that six points and a £200 fine can be handed out whilst in serious cases, police will be able to prosecute.
The video comes just months after lorry driver was jailed for ten years after he killed a mother and her three young children while changing music on his phone.
The footage, thought to have been filmed in Newport, Wales, was uploaded to YouTube by a cyclist who was stunned as the lorry passed him whilst he waited at a junction.
The huge HGV passes over a pedestrian crossing and into a box junction whilst the driver is on his phone.
The video was shared last month by YouTube user ‘Ged On 2 wheels’, with the caption: “Eddie Stobart lorry driver on his phone.”
The video description reads: “Another professional driver using mobile phone while driving and then blocks junction with his trailer, no yellow box there so happens all the time.
“Not that long ago a lorry driver killed a family while changing song on his mobile device.”
The 25-second-clip starts as the cyclist waits to cross the junction as vehicles start to pass into the junction in wet and rainy conditions.
The massive Eddie Stobart lorry then comes into view as the driver can clearly be seen through the front cab window holding a white phone to his ear with his right hand.
The person recording the footage says: “I can see you on your phone boy,” as the 13 metre, green lorry passes him as the driver steers using only his left hand.
The white Eddie Stobart logo is clearly visible as is the tagline underneath which says: “Delivering Sustainable Distribution.”
The Stobart lorry then has to stop in the middle of the box junction, due to the build up of traffic in front, blocking the path of vehicles wanting to pass through from other directions.
The footage ends as the cyclist makes his way across the road, reading out the number plate of the Stobart lorry: “KN15 DVA.”
One fellow YouTube user commented on the clip: “That was not good at all. Report this to police please or the company.
“I saw that video of a trucker texting while driving who killed half a family on a motorway.”
Ged On 2 wheels replied: “I emailed the company. They replied that it will be investigated.”
New. stricter legislation on drivers using their phone behind the wheel means that offenders will no longer be offered the chance to go on an awareness course.
The new laws also mean an automatic ban could be handed out to young and newly-qualified drivers, who could also have their licence revoked.
In October last year, Tomasz Kroker, was jailed for ten years when he killed a mother and her three children while changing music on his phone.
The lorry driver was distracted for seven seconds leading up to the crash which killed Tracey Houghton, her sons Ethan and Josh, and her step-daughter Aimee.
His actions caused an eight-vehicle smash on the A34 in Berkshire in August when he ploughed into the back of a stationary queue of traffic at 50mph he failed to notice as he scrolled through his music.
Last month, footage emerged of an Eddie Stobart overtaking three cars on on a snow-covered road.
Filmed on the A1 near the border between England and Scotland, the lorry takes 20 seconds to get past the cars before returning to the correct side of the road.
Today (MON) Eddie Stobart confirmed that “appropriate action” had been taken against the driver involved.
A spokesman for the company said: “We take health and safety very seriously. All Eddie Stobart drivers are trained to the highest standards and we expect the same from any contracted agency drivers.
“We continually review our performance and can confirm appropriate action has been taken with the agency driver concerned.
“We would like to assure members of the public we always take prompt action following any reports of incidents such as this.”
