Death load driver was reckless, judge rules
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DRIVER who knowingly ok out a vehicle with an incure heavy load which ibsequentiv fell from the chicle, thereby killing a edestrian, was guilty of :ckless driving, the Court of ,ppeal has decided.
It dismissed an appeal by it7hard Grossman against his anviction at Newcastle [poll Fyne Crown Court on charge of causing death by c...kless driving. Grossman 'as sentenced to six months nprisonmelit and was isqualified from driving for 2 months.
For Grossman, Glen Gatnd argued that he had been Lirged with the wrong ofTice. When considering a large of reckless driving it as the actual care and mtrol of the vehicle that had ) be looked at.
If no criticism could be Lade of the way that the
vehicle was steered or braked, Or of its constituent parts, it was irrelevant what happened to the load it might be carrying, he argued.
Reckless driving had to be something to do with the handling or control of the vehicle.
If a vehicle was driven with great care, the faict that something fell from it was no basis fbr a charge of reckless driving, even though the driver was aware that the load was insecure and had chosen to run the risk.
Lord Chietjustice Lane said that Crossman had collected a ready-loaded semi-trailer from a compound. Among the items on the semi-trailer was a large piece of machinery weighing between three and five tonnes.
It was Crossman's responsibility to secure and sheet the load, The man who loaded
the trailer told him he thought that the load was nilsale and should be chained down and sheeted.
Grossman disregarded that advice, saying chat the load was "as safe as houses" ;old that he was just going round the corner to chain the load at Ins depot.
He then drove out on to the public road. The vehicle went over some potholes and the machine fell from the trailer. killing the pedestrian.
Grossman must have foreseen the high degree of risk that the load might fall off, and that if it did it might injure someone.
Nevertheless he decided to run that risk. He was driving the vehicle with the knowledge that however slowly and carefully he drove, he was putting other road users at risk of serious injury or death.