Van driver's death blamed on fatigue
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• The death of a courier driver in a head-on crash in France has been blamed on the number of hours he had been driving.
At a Buxton inquest Coroner Clive Rushton recorded a verdict of accidental death on John Wilman, of Whaley Bridge, High Peak.
Rushton said there was no doubt Wilman had driven for a long period without a break, and that was the main reason he lost control on a bend and collided head-on with another vehicle.
Wilman died after suffering multiple injuries in the crash, at 05:30hrs on 1 October. He was driving for Buxton-based Fastback Courier Service—the van he was driving did not require a tachograph.
Wilman's wife Anna said he had left for work at 07:00hrs the previous day; almost 22 hours before the crash. In a statement read to the court, John Worsley, Fastback's proprietor, said he had told Wilman to go home to rest before going to France. The journeys completed by Wilman during the day were not urgent and a drop-off at Leicester was intended to be done on the way to Dover.
The inquest heard the company was unable to travel on the crossing which required the least driving as it was booked at short notice.
The coroner said the differences in the evidence of Mrs Wilman and the statement made by Worsley about the hours worked and the employer's expectations were to be expected.
However, Worsley had chosen not to attend the inquest and in such circumstances he accepted Mrs Wilman's account of what had occurred.