Driver keeps HGV licence despite road-rage attack
Page 36

If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A WIGTON lorry driver has kept his HGV licence intact despite serving a three-month prison sentence for aggravated racial assault following a road-rage incident.
However, the North Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner Patrick Mulvenna has revoked the provisional PSV driving licence held by Christopher Potts "for at least 12 months".
Potts had been jailed for three months by Carlisle Crown Court. A car with a Chinese driver had cut in front of his lorry; Potts chased the car and when it stopped he punched the driver and made a comment about his race.
Potts also had three convictions for speeding,two of which occurred while driving a truck, and he told the DTC that all the offences were committed at a time when he was separating from his wife. The DTC pointed out that speeding, particularly in HGV vehicles, often caused serious accidents.
Asked about the incident with the car driver, Potts claimed he had been enraged. He felt that the car driver had got away with poor behaviour while he was punished. He had been driving towards Carlisle when the car came up behind him, snaking in and out.
The car made several attempts to pass, drew alongside and then cut in front of him, causing him to brake hard and swerve into the side. When the traffic stopped further along he had got out and knocked on the car window, telling the driver that his driving would injure someone. Potts claimed the driver told him to "f— off" and hit him so he punched him back, Warning Potts about his future conduct, the DTC said that professional drivers were expected to set the standards on the roads regardless of the provocation.