Checking a vehicle’s brakes is an essential part of a company’s maintenance program as one company found out too late. A coroner ruled that a pensioner whose car burst into flames after being hit by a lorry was unlawfully killed. The inquest was told the lorries brakes had not been maintained properly.<\/p>\n
The lorry driver had borrowed the vehicle from a friend in Chester who owned a commercial vehicle company. He said he went over the brow of a hill and into a bend, but when he tried to brake there was no response. Mr Mason had done a visual check of the lorry when he picked it up from Mr Currie’s garage the previous night and had not noticed any defects. Worcestershire coroner asked Mr Currie how often the vehicle, used for business purposes, was serviced, as his operating licence stated it should be about every eight weeks.<\/p>\n
Mr Currie said it had not been serviced since July 2008 and although he?d checked it himself, he?d not noticed the severely corroded brake pipe underneath the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Mr Williams said Mr Currie had breached his duty to keep the vehicle in a roadworthy condition. He recorded a verdict that Mr Bird had been unlawfully killed.<\/p>\n
Horrific stories like these only demonstrate how important it is to not only to check your brakes but also be able to demonstrate that you’ve been doing so on a regular basis.<\/p>\n