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Inquiry calls for rear cameras
Page 10
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a( A rear-mounted camera on a refuse truck could have prevented the death of a council worker, a Scottish sheriff has ruled.
Moray Council refuse truck driver Norman Allan struck and killed council worker William Davidson, as he reversed on a minor road at Aultmore, near Keith, according to evidence given to the fatal accident inquiry at Elgin Sheriff Court.
Sheriff James Penman said that a rear-mounted camera on the refuse truck could have prevented the tragedy.
He also found that the accident might have been avoided if Allan had stopped reversing when he could no longer see Davidson.
There were no eyewitnesses to the accident and it had not been established why Davidson fell.
Allan said he lost sight of Davidson as he reversed-seconds later he saw him lying on the road in front of the lorry. Davidson's family now plans to sue Moray Council.
A spokeswoman for Moray Council says: "As regards the sheriff's finding in respect of rear-mounted cameras, currently there is no requirement to install these.
"However, the council considers this a practical safety enhancement and far this reason all new refuse collection vehicles supplied to the council since 1994 have been specified and supplied with rear-view cameras to aid operations at the rear of the vehicles," she says.
"Readsweeping vehicles have been specified and supplied with similar devices since 1999 and other council vehicles have audible reversing aids as standard," she adds.
II See feature on blindspots, CM18-24 October.