A Billericay skip operator who forced another vehicle off the road and then attacked the driver with a table leg has had his licence revoked.
Kevin Griggs was involved in a minor collision at the junction of the A12 and M25 in July 2021 and following the incident the operator jumped out of his cab swinging a table leg and threatened the other driver in an aggressive manner.
According to a police report, Griggs hit the motorist on the back and then drove off in a manner that was unsafe for other traffic. He was arrested a week later when a routine tachograph check revealed that he was wanted for assault.
Griggs, who traded as KDT Skips and Waste Removal, was subsequently convicted of assault by beating, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and using threatening behaviour. He was handed a prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.
At a public inquiry (PI) in Cambridge before deputy traffic commissioner (TC) Nick Denton, Griggs said he had held his HGV licence for 23 years, and other than the occasional speeding offence, he had never been in trouble. The operator said he had no record of violence, and that he had “just had a terrible day” when the offence took place and had acted out of character.
Griggs said he kept a table leg in his HGV to use as a pole with a sponge attached to clean his windscreen and it was not kept with violent intent.
However, in his written decision, deputy TC Denton said: “The incident was of an exceptionally serious and shocking nature. The public have a right to drive on the road without an operator using his skip lorry to force another vehicle to stop in a wholly inappropriate location, causing danger to other road users.
“Other road users should not be subjected to the abuse and violence dealt out by Mr Griggs, no matter what the excuse.”
Revoking the licence, he added: “Because of the exceptionally serious nature of the operator’s conduct, I consider that a disqualification is appropriate. It would make little sense to revoke Mr Griggs’ O-licence and then immediately entertain a fresh application from him.”
This PI decision is now under appeal.