“Get those mirrors fitted,” urges Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell26 May 2010

Traffic commissioner Beverley Bell is urging operators of trucks that do not have downward facing mirrors to get them retrofitted.

Her plea comes at the conclusion of the case against John Tomlinson, the driver of an Arclid Transport truck that was caught on camera pushing a Renault Clio down the A1(M) – and the footage posted on YouTube.

Bell says that, if the truck had been fitted with one such mirror, Tomlinson would have seen the car at the front of his vehicle.

"I would strongly recommend that the drivers in the industry get mirrors fitted so that they do not fall into the same trap [as Tomlinson]," she states.

Appearing before Bell, Tomlinson was praised for the way he dealt with the situation, after acting "cool and calm", and has been allowed to keep his HGV licence.

"As the Renault Clio joined the motorway, there was a very minor collision with the truck, which subsequently flipped the Clio in front of the truck," explains Bell. "The truck driver was then alerted to the fact and acted quickly by slowing down and stopping on the hard shoulder," she says.

At the time of the accident, the police were called and said there would be no further action, a decision that was reversed on the appearance of video footage on the Internet. Following a reconstruction, the police concluded that there was no way Tomlinson could have seen the car, says Bell.

The traffic commissioner also noted that the fact that the Clio had undertaken the tanker was a factor in the accident taking place.

• For more on the benefits of downward facing mirrors, check out the June issue of Transport Engineer.

Author
John Challen

Related Companies
Arclid Transport Ltd

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