1-test loads appeal
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• A runaway chemical tanker which crashed in Matlock last week when its brakes failed has boosted the town council's campaign for LGV driving tests to be conducted in loaded vehicles.
The rush-hour incident, which caused a number of injuries and damaged eight vehicles, happened in the same week that the Driving Standards Agency formally rejected the council's plea last month for test changes.
The tanker eventually stopped when it crashed into the boundary wall of a petrol station forecourt. The steep hill into the town is an accident black spot for inexperienced drivers, says Matlock's Mayor Steve Flitter, who is a former lorry driver.
"This particular driver was experienced and appears to have done everything he could," says Flitter, "but what if it had been a young inexperienced driver?"
The town has also proposed a motion calling for WV test changes with the Association for Local Councils.
Flitter says that organisation has now decided to support Matlock's campaign.
Last August a CM survey found that most WV driver training schools supported the idea of a loaded element in the driving test. The Government has rejected the idea because it would cost too much.