Instructor dies after lorry crush
A driving instructor has died after he became sandwiched between his training lorry and a HGV in Northamptonshire.
A student was practising manoeuvres in the 12 tonne vehicle, supervised by the instructor, when the crash occurred at a truckstop on the A5, police said.
The instructor became trapped between his and a stationary lorry. He was airlifted to hospital where he died.
Police urged anyone who saw the crash, which happened near Lilbourne at about 0940 GMT, to contact them.
The instructor was from Qualitas
I am sure that all our thoughts go to his family, the trainee and all that tried to save his life
Whast a terrible thing to happen. How on earth DID it happen
Condolences to the family - I wonder if we knew him?
The best piece of advice I ever got when I first started instructing was ‘Never trust them however good they are- and always keep well clear when on foot.’
Sound advice that has kept me in one piece over the years.
26 years an Lgv Trainer:
My thoughts are with Alan’s Family at this sad time.
Alan was a friend.
Also thoughts go out to the learner. The learner was a woman.
I will keep this forum updated as to how this accident happened when more comes to light.
Welcome 26 years an Lgv Trainer.
I won’t give you my overboard welcome message as this thread deserves respect.
I hope to converse on other subjects with you in other future posts.
I might have known him as well - I tested out of Weedon for most of 2005 when I was with ATT Hinckley
PS - have sent you a PM (Private Message - top of this page)
Driving instructor accidentally crushed to death by student
Inquest Date: 28 January 2009 A LORRY driving instructor died when one of the students he was teaching got her foot stuck under the brake pedal and ploughed into him, crushing him between two lorries. Alan Underwood was standing infront of the lorry showing a student how to perform an emergency stop but she didn’t brake, crushing him between two lorries near Crick. The father-of-four, who also had seven grandchildren, was taken by air ambulance to the University Hospital in Coventry but later died from multiple injuries. Yesterday (Wednesday) his grieving wife told the inquest into his death that she did not blame driver Corrine Radburn, of Carlton Road, Bilton, for his death and asked for her not to be prosecuted. The 48-year-old, of Far Cotton, Northampton, was teaching two students emergency stops at Crick Truckstop car park, just off the A5, when the accident happened on March 17 last year. Mrs. Radburn told the inquest Mr. Underwood had placed two cones to mark where he wanted her to apply the brake, and the cones were about 15 metres away from another parked lorry. Mr. Underwood then stood between the cones and the parked lorry as Mrs. Radburn drove towards him, but her foot got stuck when she went to brake and she hit him, crushing him against the lorry behind him. Mrs. Radburn told the court: “The situation made me feel uncomfortable. I told Alan ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this’.” In a moving statement from Mr. Underwood’s wife, Dawn, read to the court by coroner Anne Pember, she said: “I don’t hold the lady driver responsible. I cannot imagine what she is going through. I wouldn’t like to see her prosecuted, I just want to know why Alan did what he did.” Paying tribute to her husband, with whom she had two children, she said: "Alan was a family man, he loved to spend time with his family. “He will be greatly missed by everyone. He was my rock and I loved him very much.” A pathologist’s report said Mr. Underwood died of multiple injuries, and a verdict of accidental death was recorded.
I feel very sorry that this accident happened for all concerned.
Where does this leave the employer regarding their duty of care, where is the risk assessment? I’m willing to bet that the employer did not have set procedures for this exercise to maintain a safe way of working.
How any employer can think its okay to just give an instructor a truck and expect him to do a good job safely is beyond belief, why was he practicing at a truck stop? And what is the point of being on the outside? I would suggest that any person looking for a driver training company makes sure they have their own off road training facilities for the controlled stop and reverse exercise.
Just shows the dangers involved in this job, In the past few years a few of our competitors that operate at the lower end of the quality available have had road traffic accidents on test, fortunately no examiners have been seriously hurt yet but one has taken retirement unable to mentally cope with the risk posed by poor novice drivers.
