A LORRY driver has been banned from professional driving for 20 years after an inquiry heard a "chilling" account of his dangerous manoeuvres on one of the deadliest roads in Scotland.
Hugh Richardson, 54, of Newhall Street in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, was stripped of his HGV licence until at least 2035 - when he will be 75 - "in the interests of road safety".
Richardson was disqualified after the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, Joan Aitken, warned she would not wait for him to kill or injure someone before ending his career as a lorry driver.
He had been applying to have his professional driving licence reinstated following an existing three-year ban in relation to traffic offences including using a mobile phone at the wheel and exceeding driving hours.
The Commissioner heard that Richardson had subsequently been convicted of dangerous driving on the A75 by exceeding the 40mph speed limit in his lorry, driving dangerously close behind another vehicle, overtaking a car near Creetown despite continuous double white lines and, on the same journey, overtaking a second car and a lorry near Carsluith in a single manoeuvre round a blind right hand bend and over a blind summit.
He was found guilty at Stranraer Sheriff Court in November 2012, fined £1000, and told to re-sit his driving test following an 18-month disqualification.
An inquiry overseen by the Traffic Commissioner also heard that Richardson had been convicted on a separate instance in May 2013 for running a red light in his car.
Richardson, who has also sought a bus driver's licence in the past, told the inquiry he was a reformed character following time in prison in England and wanted to return to lorry driving since it paid more than his current employment as a car auction yard operator and fast food delivery driver.
Miss Aitken noted that Richardson "wants to be a good HGV driver" but criticised him for failing to disclose the pending dangerous driving charges during his previous appearance before the inquiry in August 2012, despite claiming at the time to be a reformed character.
She added that she was "especially wary" that his desire to have his professional licence restored was motivated by money, and instead ruled that he would be disqualified from holding a lorry driver licence until his 75th birthday on November 29, 2035.
In a written decision, Miss Aitken said it "defied belief" that an HGV driver could drive in the way that Richardson had on the A75 - a road with a reputation for fatalities and serious injuries.
She said: "Mr Richardson wants his [lorry-driving] entitlement back to make more money and to do a driving job that he likes. Money being his motivation (he spoke of being able to double his
money) I have to be especially wary of him for he is a man who historically has put money before road safety and respect for others."
She added: "I remind him and also myself that it is simply good fortune which has protected other road users from death or injury through Mr Richardson's conduct. I do not have to wait for him to kill or injure someone before I can exercise my powers to disqualify indefinitely. I am entitled to use my powers to prevent such happening."
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