Coroner slams crash Drivers must belt barriers after deaths •
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A coroner has called for an urgent investigation into the effectiveness of crash barriers following two fatal crashes.
Paul Hodgkins, 40 of Markfield, Leics died last September when his truck hit one of the piers of the bridge carrying the A638 over the A l(M).
An inquest heard that Hodgkins lost control of his ERF rigid in thick fog. When he hit the central barrier it acted "as a "rail" and forced his vehicle into the central bridge support.
In a similar accident last February, driver John Howard died when his MAN tipper hit the barrier and, again, was "guided" into the same pillar.
Coroner for South Yorkshire East Stephen Hooper, who carried out the inquest into Hodgkins' death, has written to Secretary of State for Transport, John MacGregor.
He wants an inquiry into the effect on trucks of the current design of crash barriers. They "need to be higher to cater for the increased height of trucks", he says.