Tragic event in Glasgow

[Stock]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...-west-36370471

[Muz]

Well whats to be said ? .... young drivers running about carrying 22 tonne gross on a car licence, no HGV licence, No CPC, No tacho rules, No 6 weekly inspections ,no operators licence complience etc.

Theres a reason why HGV ownership costs, and clearly theres many reasons why many wont entertain it. Sadly .. the likelihood of this type of accident is far higher as a result. We have contractors crossing the line from farming, who's machines will never see a plough, but operate under the banner of farmers using the reduced costs and legislation that they enjoy. I dont know the particulars of the driver in question, but this grey area has been an issue for some time.

Construction and use law, has gone a long way to improving the position by raising the standard of such vehicles employed, but there is still a chasm between that and the obligations of those operating road going haulage. There are ofcourse legitimate reasons for the use of this type of rig, the need to haul off road for example, but when the neccessary compliance of the operator, is so minimal, its hardly surprising that mistakes will happen.

So what were they ?

Its pure speculation on my part, but it seems to me there has been a brake failure. The road in question is a long hill, so either the trailer was not 'close coupled' with its brakes integrated with the tow tractor, or they just didnt work, or something failed, which prevented them working properly. The JCB tractor would most likely have suffered brake 'fade' in the process then . A lot of reports suggest the digger toppled, but in fairness to the driver, its still chained to the trailer, so his decent down the hill must have been fairly straight ... its most likely he ran over the top of a car as can be seen, which killed its occupant, which I also assume is near the bottom of the hill which is why it came to rest there. The bounce that this would have caused then forced the tractor off the trailer hitch. With the state of the tyres, he may also have had a puncture prior to impact, which would have compounded his loss of control, who knows, its too early to say .. just my thoughts. If my memory is correct, the fast track looks fairly new, do they use air for braking yet ?

What ever... its a tragic event , and certainly made me a bit more cautious of plant I was moving the next day. We are all at risk of causing or being a part of accidents, its down to us to step out side the box of commercial pressure, and deadlines, and re assess what it is we are doing, every day, and double check the tools we have, to make our work as safe as possible.

In the same very week, I had to do an emergency stop, with my loaded 30 tonner causing all 10 tyres to lock, only the second one I've had to do in 10 years of that particular wagons ownership. The dash cam I have employed for the last 2 years revealed the cause as being a taxi driver 3 cars ahead doing a U turn at a gap in a central reservation on a dual carriageway, causing a van behind him to stop dead, but because of the vans hesitation about pulling out, the driver of a Honda in front of me, in the left lane also stopped dead... despite the road in front of him being clear, so I had to do the same ! Fortunately it was at 30 Mph and the road was dry. Thankfully my load never flinched, and my truck maintenance regime proved its worth.