Gardaí in Laois arrest ‘Bluffer Trucker of Ballacolla’

GARDAÍ in Laois have arrested a man they dubbed the ‘Bluffer Trucker of Ballacolla’.

The HGV driver gave false details and was committing a litany of traffic offences, when he was pulled in near the village yesterday.

The truck was overloaded with stone, there was no insurance and the driver was on a learner permit that expired 20 years ago. And that was just for starters.

Gardaí said the Scania lorry ‘stood out for all the wrong reasons’ when it met a routine HGV weight check operation in Ballacolla, carried out by the Laois Roads Policing Unit (RPU).

Posting a photo from the scene on social media today, gardaí said: ‘What we uncovered wasn’t a minor oversight. It was a full breakdown in road safety standards.’ 

The truck had never been taxed, the CVRT was out for over a decade and there was no tachograph in use.

It also emerged that the uninsured driver had never held a truck category driving licence and was on a learner permit that expired over 20 years ago.

He initially provided false details and there proved to be an active bench warrant for his arrest, after his identity was established.

Gardaí warned: ‘When a HGV is unroadworthy and the person behind the wheel is unqualified, the danger isn’t hypothetical. It’s immediate and it’s severe.

‘An overloaded truck affects braking, stability and steering. A driver without the proper licence or training cannot safely handle those risks. This is exactly why truck safety checks are carried out. This stop prevented a serious incident before it happened.’ 

The truck was seized and the driver was arrested to appear before Portlaoise District Court.