For stopping his truck during a protest action in July 2022 on the A28 near Beilen, a 57-year-old trucker from Mill in Brabant was sentenced to 240 hours of community service and a driving ban of twelve months, of which eight months are conditional. His action resulted in the death of a 56-year-old motorcyclist from Amersfoort.
Two weeks ago, the Public Prosecution Service demanded a three-month prison sentence and a year’s driving ban.
The man supported protesting farmers in the Netherlands by participating in a campaign by Agractie. The action group called for work to be halted for fifteen minutes. The trucker rolled his combination and came to a standstill on both lanes. The fellow road users behind him were surprised by that unexpected traffic jam.
The trucker from Brabant made a video of his action and sent it to acquaintances and colleagues. He did not notice that five hundred meters behind him, a 56-year-old man from Eindhoven crashed into the traffic jam. He scooped the motorcyclist out of Amersfoort with his van. He did not survive the blow. The Eindhoven resident noticed the traffic jam too late.
By stopping his large and heavy tanker, the truck driver from Mill endangered fellow road users, the judge said. Other road users had to swerve or slam on the brakes. This way of demonstrating is an abuse of the right to demonstrate, the judge ruled. “An unannounced action in the middle of a highway at a busy time is unnecessary and dangerous.”
Excessive fatigue played tricks on the 56-year-old Eindhove resident. He had been working for fifteen hours. That day before the accident, fellow road users saw the van snaking across the road and called the police. Shortly before the incident, the driver had been called by his employer and told to take a rest. By ignoring that he is to blame for the accident.
The van driver was sentenced to six months in prison, three months of which were conditional, and a driving ban of two years. He was sentenced to six months in prison and two years’ driving ban.
According to the judge, both suspects are guilty of the fatal accident due to very careless and inattentive driving behavior. The judge does not agree with reckless driving behavior, as the Public Prosecution Service stated. Recklessness in traffic is the most serious form of guilt under the Traffic Act.