Curse of the white van man

The Ford Transit van is seen moving into the path of the lorry.

A WHITE van man has been caught driving into a lorry on the M60 slip road in Oldham while using his mobile phone.

The Ford Transit driver was so distracted by his call he failed to realise he had driven into the HGV and raced off without stopping.

The driver's insurers were landed with a hefty repair bill from the lorry's owner.

Under new driver distraction laws, the man could face six points on his licence and a £200 fine after dash-cam footage identified him through his registration plate.

Footage from the incident was released by in-vehicle CCTV firm VisionTrack to highlight the continuing problem of drivers flouting the law by using their phones behind the wheel.

The video is available in the Oldham Chronicle's online version of this story.

VisionTrack enterprise manager Phil Morrell said: "What is so disturbing about this footage is that the van driver was so wrapped up in his mobile phone call he wasn't even aware that he had smashed into the lorry.

"He only found out he was in trouble when he was presented with the dashcam footage later."

The new footage from the incident last month showed the Transit driver travelling illegally for at least 300 metres while talking on his mobile at the busy junction.

Substantial repairs were required on the lorry due to damage to the bodywork, front headlamp and front grill after it was hit by the 3.5 tonne van.

In March, the penalty for driving with a mobile phone was doubled to six licence points and a £200 fine.

Around 72,000 drivers are penalised every year for using their phones behind the wheel, according to Department for Transport figures.

Research also shows that drivers who are distracted by a phone are up to 25 times more likely to be involved in a crash.

Mr Morrell added: "It is absolutely certain that mobile phone distraction will lead to more deaths on UK roads unless we crack down on this now.

"It should be as socially unacceptable as drink driving but motorists still do it routinely when they are behind the wheel even when they have passengers.

"Department for Transport figures show that far, far more drivers are using mobiles while behind the wheel than drink driving. Yet there is strong evidence to suggest that it is just as dangerous."

Latest figures show that there are 3,884 convictions a year for drinking driving.