Hungarian lorry driver drove wrong way on M6 Toll because he couldn't pay the fee
A lorry driver who narrowly avoided several smashes after making three U-turns and driving the wrong way down the M6 Toll because he couldn't pay the fee, has been handed a suspended prison sentence and banned from the road for 18 months.
Hungarian Iftvan Janos Balla, aged 54, was stopped by police after he was spotted near Norton Canes yesterday and blamed getting lost on his sat nav.
Prosecutor Maggie Meakin told Cannock Magistrates Court: "The defendant was seen to be conducting three U-turns on the toll road. He was seen travelling down the exit slip road the wrong way.
"After the third turn he was stopped by police. In interview he stated he had been driving in this country since Tuesday and he has had a licence for 30 years.
"He has been driving HGV vehicles for 10 years.
"He was trying to follow his sat nav."
Footage from CCTV was then played to the court which showed Balla driving back the wrong way after coming to the toll booth, narrowly missing another lorry. He then made a U-turn to try and get up a slip road on the correct side of the road, before realising he had made a mistake and turning back down the slip road into oncoming traffic, which he once again narrowly missed.
Ms Meakin added: "He is of previous good character, but there are aggravating features in this case, in that he was driving at night time and almost hit oncoming traffic."
Mr Mo Khan, defending Balla, said: "He started working for the company he is with in November last year back home in Hungary.
"He has a family and three children to support. He is the sole provider.
"Having spoken to him through his interpretor, he is very apologetic, and in fact was in tears.
"He was given a sat nav by his company and he was just following that.
"He had no funds to pay for the toll. Even if he did have the funds, his company would not have reimbursed him, and it would have been a lot of money to him.
"It is all well and good to have these companies from overseas trading with us, but in all honesty, I think it should be them here in the dock, not Mr Balla. He hasn't been told that he will face tolls and that the roads are actually quite different to Hungary. He should have been given everything he needed to drive safely here in the UK."
Balla pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. He was handed a 20 week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months and disqualified from driving for 18 months.
