Accidental death verdict for pensioner killed in lorry collision on Wimborne Road (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Accidental death verdict for pensioner killed in lorry collision on Wimborne Road
4:30pm Tuesday 5th February 2013 in News By Jane Reader
Inquest into death of pensioner who died in Winton lorry accident
PEDESTRIANS have been urged to use designated crossings following the tragic death of a 77-year-old killed in a collision with a 40-ton truck on a busy Bournemouth road.
Margaret Howells suffered horrific injuries as she attempted to cross Wimborne Road, Winton in a front of an articulated lorry on July 12 last year, an inquest heard.
District coroner Sheriff Payne was told the driver did not see Mrs Howells as he edged his vehicle forwards in heavy lunchtime traffic.
He only realised he had collided with her when passers-by banged on his passenger door and raised their arms.
Lorry driver John Lewis from Lancashire described how pedestrians were “crossing and weaving in and out of cars” despite pelican crossings around 100m away in both directions.
Accident investigator PC Clifton Beard added: “The Highway Code says crossings should be used and pedestrians should not cross in front of vehicles with their engines running.
“It is inadvisable for a pedestrian to attempt to cross the road in close proximity to a large vehicle.”
Winton ward councillor Theo Stratton urged pedestrians to use crossings and said work is currently underway to attempt to reduce traffic on Wimborne Road.
And the above footage shows how busy Wimborne Road is during lunchtimes.
Cllr Stratton said: “Wimborne Road has always been a problem. We are looking into a few ideas to minimise the amount of traffic. I will discuss it with highways.”
The Bournemouth inquest heard Mrs Howells, of Cox Avenue, Bournemouth, was crossing from G&Ts in the direction of a coffee shop when the accident happened at 12.30pm.
She suffered a broken back and all but one of her ribs were broken. She died in the early hours of the following morning at Poole Hospital from multiple injuries.
Witness Shannon Shepheard told the inquest: “I saw the lorry start to move forward and hit the lady, which pushed her into the road. She disappeared from my view under the front of the lorry.
“I can only assume that the driver did not see the lady and he would not have felt the impact either.”
Mr Lewis added: “I was stunned to see what had happened, I could not believe what had gone on. I was in shock.”
Mrs Howells’ family said they do not blame Mr Lewis for the tragedy and added: “I am sure this has been as hard for you as it has for us.”
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Payne said: “He just did not see here at all, she was in a position where she was in a blind spot.
“It is quite clear to me that this was a complete accident. Nobody was to blame, it was just one of those sad things that can happen.”
Comments(11)
Old Colonial
says...
5:57pm Tue 5 Feb 13
FNS-man wrote:Every vehicle has blind spots. Drivers cannot be expected to have 360 degree vision.
There is no need for lorries to have blind spots. A properly-equipped lorry will have none. How many people need to die before the law in this area is tightened?
FNS-man
says...
6:42pm Tue 5 Feb 13
Old Colonial wrote:I repeat, a properly-equipped lorry need not have any blind spots.
FNS-man wrote: There is no need for lorries to have blind spots. A properly-equipped lorry will have none. How many people need to die before the law in this area is tightened?Every vehicle has blind spots. Drivers cannot be expected to have 360 degree vision.
This woman was crossing in front of a stationary vehicle. How can it not be that driver's responsibility to check whether there is someone in front of him? It's not like she ran out in front of speeding vehicles.
How the hell can we allow vehicles onto roads where the driver cannot see if there is a person standing right in front of the vehicle or not? In this situation there were loads of pedestrians crossing the road. And the driver is in a vehicle that makes it impossible for him to know whether he's going to kill someone or not when he pulls off? Madness.
mikey2gorgeous
says...
11:08pm Tue 5 Feb 13
billd766
says...
1:53am Wed 6 Feb 13
mikey2gorgeous wrote:How about he was probably making a delivery to a store close by.
What the hell is a 40 ton artic doing driving through a busy shopping centre? There's arterial roads less than a tenth of a mile away.
billd766
says...
1:58am Wed 6 Feb 13
FNS-man wrote:The vehicle was ONLY stationary because the traffic flow had briefly stopped.
Old Colonial wrote:I repeat, a properly-equipped lorry need not have any blind spots.
FNS-man wrote: There is no need for lorries to have blind spots. A properly-equipped lorry will have none. How many people need to die before the law in this area is tightened?Every vehicle has blind spots. Drivers cannot be expected to have 360 degree vision.
This woman was crossing in front of a stationary vehicle. How can it not be that driver's responsibility to check whether there is someone in front of him? It's not like she ran out in front of speeding vehicles.
How the hell can we allow vehicles onto roads where the driver cannot see if there is a person standing right in front of the vehicle or not? In this situation there were loads of pedestrians crossing the road. And the driver is in a vehicle that makes it impossible for him to know whether he's going to kill someone or not when he pulls off? Madness.
Why did the woman not use the crossing?
Quote from the post
District coroner Sheriff Payne was told the driver did not see Mrs Howells as he edged his vehicle forwards in heavy lunchtime traffic.
Lorry driver John Lewis from Lancashire described how pedestrians were “crossing and weaving in and out of cars” despite pelican crossings around 100m away in both directions.
Accident investigator PC Clifton Beard added: “The Highway Code says crossings should be used and pedestrians should not cross in front of vehicles with their engines running.
“It is inadvisable for a pedestrian to attempt to cross the road in close proximity to a large vehicle.”
yesitsmeagain
says...
6:08am Wed 6 Feb 13
FNS-man wrote:I agree with you , I am an HGV driver and am based in winton and use this road all the time and still see people doing the same thing , Time for the sensors to be fitted to all lorrys to stop this happening which are available , lorrys have no choice but to use these roads and pedestrians will go where they want , Only makes sense to do all we can to stop it again
There is no need for lorries to have blind spots. A properly-equipped lorry will have none. How many people need to die before the law in this area is tightened?
yesitsmeagain
says...
6:10am Wed 6 Feb 13
yesitsmeagain wrote:happening again ooops
FNS-man wrote:I agree with you , I am an HGV driver and am based in winton and use this road all the time and still see people doing the same thing , Time for the sensors to be fitted to all lorrys to stop this happening which are available , lorrys have no choice but to use these roads and pedestrians will go where they want , Only makes sense to do all we can to stop it again
There is no need for lorries to have blind spots. A properly-equipped lorry will have none. How many people need to die before the law in this area is tightened?
rayc
says...
11:49am Wed 6 Feb 13
yesitsmeagain wrote:With these sensors going off due to the close proximity of pedestrians on the pavement and also crossing in front and behind of the lorry will traffic actually move?
FNS-man wrote:I agree with you , I am an HGV driver and am based in winton and use this road all the time and still see people doing the same thing , Time for the sensors to be fitted to all lorrys to stop this happening which are available , lorrys have no choice but to use these roads and pedestrians will go where they want , Only makes sense to do all we can to stop it again
There is no need for lorries to have blind spots. A properly-equipped lorry will have none. How many people need to die before the law in this area is tightened?
If we are going to provide more legislation how about making jaywalking an offence as in the US?
mikey2gorgeous
says...
12:57pm Wed 6 Feb 13
billd766 wrote:Then we should put daytime weight restrictions in place. Let the lorries deliver out of shopping hours or use smaller vehicles.
mikey2gorgeous wrote:How about he was probably making a delivery to a store close by.
What the hell is a 40 ton artic doing driving through a busy shopping centre? There's arterial roads less than a tenth of a mile away.
Winton has so much through traffic - it's extremely unpleasant as a shopping area for the old and young alike.
FNS-man
says...
9:04pm Sun 10 Feb 13
billd766 wrote:She crossed the road because, like the old joke, she wanted to get to the other side. Like pretty much any pedestrian would.
FNS-man wrote:The vehicle was ONLY stationary because the traffic flow had briefly stopped.
Old Colonial wrote:I repeat, a properly-equipped lorry need not have any blind spots.
FNS-man wrote: There is no need for lorries to have blind spots. A properly-equipped lorry will have none. How many people need to die before the law in this area is tightened?Every vehicle has blind spots. Drivers cannot be expected to have 360 degree vision.
This woman was crossing in front of a stationary vehicle. How can it not be that driver's responsibility to check whether there is someone in front of him? It's not like she ran out in front of speeding vehicles.
How the hell can we allow vehicles onto roads where the driver cannot see if there is a person standing right in front of the vehicle or not? In this situation there were loads of pedestrians crossing the road. And the driver is in a vehicle that makes it impossible for him to know whether he's going to kill someone or not when he pulls off? Madness.
Why did the woman not use the crossing?
Quote from the post
District coroner Sheriff Payne was told the driver did not see Mrs Howells as he edged his vehicle forwards in heavy lunchtime traffic.
Lorry driver John Lewis from Lancashire described how pedestrians were “crossing and weaving in and out of cars” despite pelican crossings around 100m away in both directions.
Accident investigator PC Clifton Beard added: “The Highway Code says crossings should be used and pedestrians should not cross in front of vehicles with their engines running.
“It is inadvisable for a pedestrian to attempt to cross the road in close proximity to a large vehicle.”
FNS-man says...
5:24pm Tue 5 Feb 13