No blame attached
Page 26
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We refer to the article "Defence at the Helm" (CM 19-25 Feb). The picture above the title depicts the scene of an accident involving two of our vehicles.
The circumstances of this incident were tragic—there was loss of life—but at the subsequent inquest our driver was completely exonerated.
Three of our vehicles had just left a service area at 06:00hrs on 26 June 1997 where they had been staying overnight. They were travelling eastbound on the A47. It was windy and wet; our drivers had their headlights on.
Around five minutes into their shift, the middle vehicle was confronted by a minibus which had mounted an embankment and then crossed into the path of our vehicle and collided with it.
Our driver had attempted to take evasive action and in so doing the combination jack-knifed and the load of two pipes broke their restraints and the headboard of the trailer, landing up on the carriageway as depicted in the photograph. The post mortem established that the minibus driver had suffered a fatal heart attack before the collision: it was established that he had been working extremely long hours in the weeks leading up to the accident.
The driver of a saloon car travelling in the same direction as the minibus lost control of his vehicle as he swerved around the pipes and collided with our third vehicle, which was travelling at under 5mph as the driver drew up behind the accident scene. Our driver was not charged in relation to this accident.
The road involved is widely regarded as inadequate for the volume of traffic it curries and in the circumstances we believe our driver took all reasonable steps to minimise the effects of the collision.
We resent having our vehicles depicted in a situation where the accompanying picture of collision damage shows a vehicle from a firm which was subsequently taken to court with many charges made against it and its managers, including some relating to maintenance.
We operate a modern, well maintained fleet and employ a driver training officer. We assess drivers before employing them; we provide them with health screening and we always investigate accidents thoroughly.
We were the first haulier in north-east Scotland to obtain BS5750. We do take driver training seriously and enjoy low premiums because of our good claims record. We believe this justifies our commitment to monitoring driver performance and attitude, which we are aware can be affected by many factors including domestic or marital stress or health concerns.
We have not hesitated to take drivers off driving duties if we believe their judgement may be impaired We do recognise our responsibilities to other road users and the public at large.
George G Craib, ARR Craib Transport, Dyce, Aberdeen.