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THINK! Don't drive tired
Page 13
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say devastated parents
Pushed to get a job done within hours rules? Driving on despite being sleepy? Don't even consider it, say Ellen and Brian Clarkson. Their two children Laura, 13, and Robert, 9, were killed in a pile-up on the M11 when a German truck driver fell asleep at the wheel after working for over 40 hours without a break. Jennifer Ball talks to them about the devastating effect this has had on their lives.
• "I can't begin to put into words the effect that the children's deaths has had upon us. We have no family life now. Every day, a situation arises where I think about the future we would have had, with them taking A-levels or going to their first school ball.
If I see a mum in a supermarket telling their children off I think 'don't do that, you are so lucky to have them'. No other family should have to we through what we have," says Ellen Clarkson.
in May 2002, German truck driver Egon Roemer, 48, was jailed for just five years for causing death by dangerous driving. He ploughed into the back of a stationary vehicle waiting to join the M25 from the M11 on 24 August 2001. The impact led to a series of collisions involving seven vehicles and killing four people, including the Clarksons' two children and their natural father, Martin Dawson (CM 23-29 May 2002).
In October, Boerner will be able to apply for parole, which could see him released in February having served just two and a half years of his sentence. Despite pleading not guilty for six months, Boerner, much to the disappointment of the Clarksons, changed his plea on the day of the trial. 'While many people will find this strange we were devastated about his change of plea. We had prepared ourselves for the trial and it would have given us a chance to finally understand what actually happened. We wanted Boerner to see the pictures and videos of the crash and face up to what he had done; he never saw the devastation he caused because he was injured, and was rushed away from the scene," says Ellen.
The couple say they were extremely disappointed at the leniency of the sentence. However, they had been warned that while ten years was the maximum sentence Boerner could receive, he was only likely to receive five years because unlike drink or drug driving, falling asleep at the wheel is not considered to be premeditated.
This is one area of the law that the Clarksons would like to see changed: "He knew that he was not capable of driving—that is why there are drivers' hours laws in place. After the crash we asked the police about whether the law needs changing to stop this ever happening again, but we were told that the laws are all in place but are not being enforced because of a lack of manpower," says Ellen.
Brian says he feels that the government has moved police from patrolling roads to fighting street crime: "I understand that this is important. However, it is insulting when a mobile phone mugger is sentenced to six years because he caused his victim psychiatric problems, while a man who killed four people after working illegally is given only five years.
"I would like to see how many handbags and mobile phones were prevented being stolen by extra policing on the streets in relation to the number of road accidents that took place in the same time," says Brian.
The couple say that they are aware that most truck drivers are caring, law-abiding professionals who adhere to the law, and that it is just a minority of hauliers who fail to take adequate precaution to prevent their drivers becoming involved in such an accident. It is these companies that they want to see facing corporate manslaughter charges.
"I don't think you will ever stop illegal running unless you start prosecuting the companies involved," says Brian. "Hauliers need to have the deterrent of corporate manslaughter charges so that they know if a driver is involved in an accident they could also face prosecution. Then hopefully they will monitor drivers more carefully to ensure that illegal practices do not occur and accidents are prevented."
The couple were keen to pursue corporate manslaughter charges against Schmitz & Schultz, the German haulage firm that Boerner was working for at the time of the crash. However, they discovered that they weren't able to do this because he was employed outside the UK.
The Clarksons want to see European laws that allow people to pursue action outside their own jurisdiction, as well as more frequent spot-checks on foreign drivers. They believe that many Continental drivers believe they can come into the UK and do what they like because the police do not have adequate powers to issue penalties and pursue the case once the drivers have returned to their own country.
"We hope some good will come from the needless deaths of our children— that just one truck driver reading this article who may be, or has considered, working excessive hours, will consider the consequences of driving without adequate rest," says Ellen.
IlJendfor.ball®rld.co.uk