Fw: Long trips/tired driving - a lesson

[Jim Haseltine]

 Some of you may recall that there was a train wreck here last year - 10
 dead, 70 injured.

 All caused because Gary Hart fell asleep at the wheel of his Land Rover and
 trailer. The Land Rover then left the M62 and plunged down the embankment
on
 to the East Coast mainline where it was hit by a southbound GNER express
 train which then collided with a fully-laden coal train.

 Hart had fewer than 3 hours sleep in the 48 prior to the accident.

 Hart made a "long" phone call (according to phone company records, a 5 hour
 call  between 2148 GMT on 27 February and 0358 GMT on 28 February)  and
then left
 home between 0430 GMT and 0440 GMT.

 He was later spotted on CCTV cameras at Louth (10 miles) at 0502 GMT. When
 Hart made his 999 call, reporting his vehicle being on the track, the time
 was 0612 GMT.

 The distance between his house and the accident site is over 70 miles
 (having lived in the area some years ago, my estimate is closer to 85), and
 a police driver was unable to replicate the journey in the same time, even
 though he had blue light escort and had at times broken the speed limit.

 Last Friday Hart received a 5 year custodial sentence - half the maximum
 term which can be imposed for causing death by dangerous driving by English
 Crown Court.

 Sentencing Hart, Mr Justice Mackay told him :
 "An accident in the circumstances you chose to put yourself was almost
 inevitable. What happened was perhaps the worst driving-related accident in
 the UK in recent years."

 After the trial, Detective Superintendent Makay of North Yorkshire Police
 stated :
 "His inability to accept he fell asleep is a major source of resentment to
 many of the victims. I don't wish to comment on the length of the sentence.
 There are some people standing behind me who do not think it is long
 enough."

 Superintendent Bracken of British Transport Police added:
 "These events were caused by one man's actions; selfish, dangerous
actions."