At a time when HGV driver well-being and safety are under increased focus, we regret to bring you sad news about a recent death of a driving professional during the course of their work. As such, a coroner has issued a safety alert regarding the coupling and uncoupling of trailers to tractor cabs as an HGV driver was killed in a rollaway incident in Cheshire.

When working via an agency for haulage and warehousing firm 3D Cabs in November of 2021 in Widnes, David Lyth became trapped as his trailer started to roll back. The driver put out his arms to stop the movement but was subsequently pinned between two HGV trailers. Unresponsive when found, Mr Lyth’s death was later confirmed at Whiston Hospital.

Earlier Complaints About Faulty Air Cables

The incident occurred at 10.50 pm on Tuesday, November 30th, leading to police being called to the site on Gorsely Lane, Widnes. Reports coming from the incident state that the driver had earlier complained of an issue with his vehicle’s air cables before being instructed to collect a new replacement trailer from 3D Trans Ltd’s yard.

However, during the coupling process, the trailer unexpectedly rolled backwards, resulting in the asphyxiation of the driver. Consequently, the coroner at the heart of the story, Cheshire’s assistant coroner Charlotte Keighley, has written to 3D Trans, demanding that steps be taken to prevent further deaths during the coupling and uncoupling of lorry trailers.

Not the First Incident For 3D Trans

During the course of her investigations, Keighley found that this wasn’t an isolated incident for 3D Trans. In fact, there had been four previous rollaway incidents for the company, two of which occurred after the death of Mr Lyth. In the letter sent to both the haulage operator and the Health & Safety Executive, Keighley stated:

“I acknowledge that these incidents involve different circumstances and that only one resulted in a fatality. I received evidence that following each of the incidents, refresher training was provided, and various measures were put in place at the yard to physically prevent the vehicles or trailers from rolling away.

In addition to this, signage has been placed on the tractor and trailer units to serve as a reminder to drivers of the importance of securing the parking brakes on the tractor and trailer units. I have concerns regarding the provision of regular and periodic training for all drivers in respect of coupling and uncoupling procedures.”

The Safety of UK HGV Drivers of Paramount Importance

Much has been written about the need to improve safety for HGV drivers in the UK, and these incidents serve as an added reminder that there is still a lot of work to do. Not only is the safety of drivers in the UK of paramount importance, but when deaths occur, it negatively impacts external perceptions and makes it harder to attract people into the industry.

At HGVC, it naturally always saddens us to hear news like this in the haulage sector. However, we’ll continue to impress the importance of safety to learners engaged in our industry-leading driver training via our 60 nationwide locations. Delivering scalable HGV licence acquisition programs to meet any size of need, we’re dedicated to maintaining safe practices.