VOSA has issued a warning about the dangers of truck drivers cluttering their windscreens and dashboards. An article published earlier this month in The Times alleged that lorry drivers in France had been spotted "steering by ear" - placing one wheel on the white line and following the noise - leaving them free to watch a DVD, play a computer game or read.
A spokesman for VOSA says: "This kind of behaviour is unacceptable. The drivers' view of the road is a reoccurring problem with the
various items that drivers seem to clutter their windscreens and dashboards. Clearly this has a large bearing on road safety, as the driver's vision of the road is greatly reduced."
VOSA says in one incident it stopped an Italian vehicle in Coquelles, France, en route to the UK. The driver had a 17-inch flat-screen monitor attached to his vehicle's dashboard. In a separate incident, a Polish vehicle was stopped in the same place. According to VOSA, its windscreen was obscured behind various flags, an open laptop and a kettle resting on the centre of the dash.
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