Taxi Driver Online

Yes, I remember we discussed that at the time. However, we should never assume anything. I'd suggest there's a lot of taxi firms out there who run minibuses without the correct licences or insurances in place or even worry about drivers hours regulations, let alone know how to use a tacho. That may well be the case here, just because someone appears to be licenced may not mean he is. An operator search of the DVSA database may show he was not licenced to run a psv.

M1 crash deaths: Driver in fatal crash on hands-free call

A driver had been on a hands-free call for nearly an hour when he crashed into a minibus, killing eight people, a court has heard. David Wagstaff, 54, admitted "lack of concentration" when the crash on the M1 near Milton Keynes happened in August.

Reading Crown Court heard the minibus was crushed under another lorry. Mr Wagstaff has admitted eight charges of causing death by careless driving but denies eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

Minibus driver Cyriac Joseph was waiting with his hazard lights on for the chance to go past a lorry driven by Ryszard Masierak. Mr Masierak, 32, had allegedly stopped on the M1 near Newport Pagnell at about 03:00 BST on 26 August 2017.

When Mr Wagstaff hit the minibus, which was taking passengers from Nottingham to London to catch a coach to Disneyland Paris, it was forced into and under Mr Masierak's lorry. Mr Masierak is accused of being twice over the drink-drive limit.

In a police interview, Mr Wagstaff said he "never expected" to catch up to the minibus and lorry, saying "lack of concentration, that's all I can say", the court heard. He told police he spoke to fellow driver Elliot Brough frequently and on the night in question they talked about "rubbish", including Everton and Donald Trump.

The eight people killed - six men and two women - were Mr Joseph, Panneerselvam Annamalai, Rishi Ranjeev Kumar, Vivek Baskaran, Lavanyalakshmi Seetharaman, Karthikeyan Pugalur Ramasubramanian, Subramaniyan Arachelvan and Tamilmani Arachelvan. Four other minibus passengers, including a four-year-old girl, were seriously injured in the crash.

Mr Wagstaff, of Derwent Street in Stoke-on-Trent, has also admitted four counts of careless driving. Both Mr Wagstaff and Mr Masierak deny eight counts each of causing death by dangerous driving, and four counts each of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Mr Masierak, of Barnards Close in Evesham, Worcestershire, faces a further eight charges of causing death by careless driving, while over the prescribed alcohol limit.

The trial continues.

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IDFIMH

here we go the lesser conviction of driving without due care and a lighter sentence to go with it

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Lorry driver Ryszard Masierak guilty over fatal M1 crash

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-43308574

A lorry driver has been convicted of causing the deaths of eight people in a crash on the M1.
Ryszard Masierak, 31, was at twice the drink-drive limit and had stopped in the inside lane when he was involved in the crash with a minibus and another lorry near Newport Pagnell.
He was found guilty of eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
The jury at Reading Crown Court is still deliberating charges against the other lorry driver, David Wagstaff.
Masierak was also convicted of four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after the crash last August.

A few years in jail then I would think

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Guilty verdict eminently predictable in his case.

Wagstaff's is a lot more interesting. Jury continuing deliberations tomorrow morning, apparently.

At a guess 8-12 years.

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IDFIMH

second driver cleared of dangerous driving

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43320649

A second lorry driver involved in a crash on the M1 that killed eight people has been cleared of causing death by dangerous driving.
David Wagstaff had previously admitted eight counts of the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving.
Wagstaff, 54, was on a hands-free call when his lorry forced a minibus under a stationary lorry in lane one.

The pair are due to be sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court on 23 March.

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Three years IMO.

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IDFIMH

Little bit out, he got 14 years.

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IDFIMH

Bit nearer with this, he got three years, four months.

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IDFIMH

Two lorry drivers have been jailed over a crash on the M1 in Buckinghamshire that killed eight people last year.

Ryszard Masierak, 31, was jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. David Wagstaff, 54, was sentenced to 40 months in prison after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Eight people died when the minibus they were travelling in was hit by Wagstaff and shunted into Masierak's lorry, which had stopped on the inside lane. Judge Francis Sheridan said the crash was the most serious in the UK for more than 26 years.

Sentencing the pair at Aylesbury Crown Court, Judge Sheridan described Masierak as a "persistent, unmitigated, if not very accomplished liar" who had shown "no remorse". "What you have tried to do is blame everyone and everybody except yourself," he told him.

The trial heard Masierak, of Barnards Close, Evesham, Worcestershire, was twice the drink-drive limit and had stopped on the inside lane near Newport Pagnell for 12 minutes before the crash on 26 August. The AIM Logistics driver admitted he had consumed alcohol but said he stopped because he was sweating, felt weak and had a headache.

Ryszard Masierak and David Wagstaff were sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court

After the verdicts, it was revealed Masierak's professional driving licence had been revoked prior to the crash. At today's sentencing, the Polish national was told he could face deportation on his release from prison.

Minibus driver Cyriac Joseph was waiting with his hazard lights on to go around Masierak's lorry when Fed Ex driver Wagstaff ploughed into the back of the van forcing it into and under Masierak's vehicle.

Wagstaff, of Derwent Street, Stoke-on-Trent, had been on a hands-free call for an hour at the time of impact and the trial heard he did not brake before crashing into the minibus at 56mph.

Judge Sheridan said Wagstaff had between nine and 11 seconds to see the vehicles ahead had he "not been so distracted by using the phone". "You took no action whatsoever because you weren't concentrating on what was in front of you - they were there to be seen and you didn't see them." A jury had cleared Wagstaff of causing death by dangerous driving.

Despite Judge Sheridan acknowledging that Wagstaff had not broken the law by using a bluetooth headset, he said: "It would be wrong of me not to take the opportunity to urge the public to download the app that deactivates your phone when you are on the move."

The minibus was owned and being driven by Cyriac Joseph The eight people killed were all travelling in the minibus, which was carrying 11 Indian tourists from Nottingham to London ahead of a trip to Disneyland Paris.

The six men and two women who died were driver Cyriac Joseph, Panneerselvam Annamalai, Rishi Ranjeev Kumar, Vivek Baskaran, Lavanyalakshmi Seetharaman, Karthikeyan Pugalur Ramasubramanian, Subramaniyan Arachelvan and Tamilmani Arachelvan.

Four other passengers - including a four-year-old girl orphaned by the crash - were seriously injured and spent weeks in hospital afterwards.

Masierak was also disqualified from driving for 17 years after he was convicted of eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Wagstaff admitted eight counts of causing death by careless driving and four counts of causing serious injury by careless driving. He was banned from driving for three years.

At the sentencing, Judge Sheridan took the opportunity to thank the victims' families who he said had "conducted themselves with utmost dignity which was utterly humbling".

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IDFIMH

I think driver Wagstaff got away with it a little but that Polish one should not have been on our roads here's hoping he doesn't get his HGV license back because he will probably only serve about 6 or 7 years

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It is highly unlikely as he's been banned from driving for 17 years. Anyone re-applying for a vocational licence with that amount of ban will certainly face a Public Inquiry with the Traffic Commissioner and will in all likelihood have the application refused.

Having answered my own question from a while ago, was the company a licenced PSV operator, the answer is yes, it has one restricted PSV licence to operate an under 16 seat minibus. It appears that the late Mr Cyriac and his wife are the lcience holders with the company name of Cyriac Ltd. A DVSA operator search comes up with licence no.and an address in Nottingham.

https://www.vehicle-operator-licensing. ... nce/428239

They both got the maximum they could get for the offences they were found or pleaded guilty too.

14 years is the max for causing death by dangerous driving, 5 years the max for causing death by careless driving. Wagstaff got a third off for pleading guilty, hence the 3 years 4 months.

I suspect the polish fella will be booted out after his sentence due to us not being in the EU then.

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IDFIMH

Even if we stay in the EU by then he can still be deported as can any EU national committing offences here. Foreign offenders can also be made to serve their sentences in a jail in their home coutry.