Fifty-three-year-old Simon Bendall of Robins Close, died as he made his way to work at Cambridge Regional College in April last year when his Vauxhall Astra was hit by a Volvo truck driven by Melvyn Gillett of Littleport. Accident investigators said the lorry was doing around 47 mph at the time of the crash which happened on the A14 slip road at Milton.

Gillett, who had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing, was also banned from driving for 18 months and told he would have to take a compulsory re-test before getting his licence back.

Sitting at Cambridge Crown Court Judge Hawkesworth told Gillett he had shown “an avoidable lack of attention to road conditions.”

“Everybody in this county knows how dangerous the A14 can be particularly those driving heavy good vehicles who have to take the greatest care to avoid queuing traffic. The consequence of not doing that in this case was that a family man lost his life,” he said.

Praising Mr Bendall’s family,who he said had “behaved with enormous dignity” Judge Hawkesworth said it was a “tragic case” in which only a prison sentence was appropriate because of the consequences the defendant’s actions.

Prosecuting Sara Walker told the the court that a total of four vehicles had been involved in the accident. Mr Bendall car had been waiting to leave the motorway when Gillett’s lorry hit it was shunting into the car in front which in turn crashed into another car.

She said one of the other two car drivers involved, neither of whom was seriously hurt, had told how he could see the lorry coming “at a hell of a pace” and knew a collision was inevitable. He said he had looked away from his mirror put his head against the head rest and braced himself for the impact.

When interviewed by police at the scene Gillett, who was not injured in the crash, told officers: “I don’t know what happened.”

Later he said the traffic had slowed up in front of him but the vehicles in the other lane would not move so he could not move out. But the court heard there was no evidence that he had been indicated to pull out.

Ms Walker said tacograph readings his emergency braking started at 54mph with the speed on impact recorded at 47mph. The court heard that the lorry’s speed control limiter had been set at 56mph when it should have been 50mph. There were also signs on the motorway warning drivers of the possibility of queuing traffic ahead.

Mitigating Mr Stuart Driver QC said Gillett, who was in tears in the dock, was in a “state of remorse” and there was doubt whether he could ever forgive himself for what he had done.

He said he had been an hgv driver for 22 years and was a “steady family man” working for the business founded by his grandfather and run by his two older brothers. “He had been hoping to take over the running of the business but that is now clearly in jeopardy,” said Mr Driver.

Following the sentencing Mr Bendall’s younger brother Jerry, who lives in Newmarket, and had been in court with Mr Bendall’s daughters Lizzie, Becky and Hannah, said: “As a family we wouldn’t want any other family to go through the ordeal we have been through. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Gillett for pleading guilty at the first opportunity.”