Sheriff rules fatal crash motorist ‘not fit to drive’
A LORRY driver who caused a fatal crash after taking unwell at the wheel should not have been driving after suffering two previous “dizziness” episodes, a sheriff has ruled.
A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) determination also stated that doctors should decide on whether patients are fit to drive for a living – not on the type of vehicle they drive or licence they hold.
James Miller died after a Renault box lorry being drive in the opposite direction by John Power veered across the carriageway of the A7 and struck his Vauxhall Cavalier on the morning of December 10, 2015.
The 64-year-old motorist, from Hawick, was pronounced dead at the scene at Teviothead.
The FAI at Jedburgh Sheriff Court heard that Mr Power had suffered “a sudden loss of disorientation due to a medical event” shortly before the collision.
It also emerged that Mr Power had been advised by his doctor “not to drive an HGV” after suffering two disabling attacks in June and October 2015 while making deliveries.
But the four-day inquiry heard that Mr Power and his employer, J Dickinson Transport Limited of Longtown, Cumbria, felt it was still safe for him to drive the 7.5 tonne lorry.
During the course of his evidence Dr Paul Davies, of North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, indicated that when giving his advice, what he really meant by the term HGV was lorry.
In his determination, Sheriff Peter Paterson said Dr Davies should have more fully considered the DVLA guidance under the section “Liability to Sudden Attacks of Unprovoked or Unprecipitated Disabling Giddiness” and advised Mr Power not to drive any vehicle of any type.
He accepted the letter which advised him to “not drive an HGV” was confusing.
But the sheriff added that on receipt of the letter on October 26, 2015, Mr Power should have sought clarification from either Dr Davies or his own GP.
Sheriff Paterson said: “I accept that the term HGV used in the letter is a potentially confusing one, but I remain unclear, if it was unsafe to drive vehicles over 7.5 tonne, why he should feel it was safe to drive vehicles under 7.5 tonne? Simply because he had a
Doctors should decide if patients are fit to drive for a living
licence to do so does not provide a rational explanation.”
He recommended: “When doctors are advising patients who drive for a living they should decide if they are fit to drive for a living, not on the type of vehicle they drive or type of licence held by the patient.”
It comes after an FAI into the bin lorry crash which left six people dead in Glasgow in 2014 also highlighted the issue of doctors’ advice to motorists.
The sheriff in that case, in which driver Harry Clarke lost consciousness after previously blacking out behind the wheel, recommended more effort to raise awareness of the “implications of medical conditions for fitness to drive” amongst doctors.