A Dundee lorry driver ploughed into the back of a car on a Fife motorway as he viewed a map on his phone to find his last drop-off.
Gavin Blues had been swerving the HGV between lanes on the M90 and failed to notice slow moving traffic at a junction ahead, before smashing into the car in front.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard that the driver and passenger of the car were injured in the collision, which forced the car boot into the back seat.
Blues, 42, appeared in court this week to admit causing the crash by driving the 12 tonne lorry dangerously and using a handheld electronic device as he travelled north on the motorway, near to junction 2A with the A92, on July 17 2021.
‘Car boot pushed into rear seats’
Procurator fiscal depute Michael Robertson told the court other road users had spotted the lorry drifting between lanes before the smash and that the driver appeared “distracted” and was “looking down”.
As traffic slowed at the junction, the driver of one vehicle pulled onto the hard shoulder to avoid a collision after spotting the lorry in his rear view mirror.
The lorry then struck the back of the next car in front, driven by Donatella Pili with passenger Alexander Busby.
The fiscal depute said: “Due to the collision the car was crushed to the rear, putting the boot into the rear seats and causing the vehicle to spin on to the hard shoulder”.
Mr Robertson said the lorry then moved into the other lane and struck the central reservation.
The M90 northbound was closed temporarily and the fire service attended to remove the passenger.
Both car occupants were taken to hospital.
Injuries
The fiscal depute said Ms Pili suffered nine injuries, including neck pain and bruising to her left eye and a burn mark on the inside of her right forearm.
Mr Busby also had injuries including neck and groin pain and bruising on the head.
The fiscal said police were called and once Blues was arrested, he stated to officers: “If I was not looking at my maps, it would not have happened”.
Defence lawyer Larry Flynn said his client, who was driving for his employer at the time, accepted that he had been on his phone.
The solicitor said: “He had one drop off to do and apparently not to a place he had been before”.
Mr Flynn said Blues, of Kingsway Terrace, has previous driving related convictions but these were not detailed in court.
The lawyer said his client, who had been a professional driver for 10 years, lost his HGV licence as a result of the collision and has not been driving on a personal basis since February last year.
Sheriff James Williamson told Blues this case highlighted the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving.
The sheriff said: “This was not momentary distraction, you had been weaving in and out of lanes and seemed to be for a period of time before you came in to the lane, causing a collision.
“You have a poor driving record for a professional driver”.
Sheriff Williamson banned Blues from driving for 32 months and fined him £720.
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