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Lorry firm ordered to close after cyclist's death – bosses admit lying to public inquiry

S&J Transport falsely claimed it was not aware of dashboard table that obscured driver’s view

In December 2019, a lorry driver who hit Birmingham cyclist Dr Suzanna Bull because his view was blocked by a dashboard tray table was jailed for 21 months for causing her death by careless driving. The firm for which he worked, S&J Transport, will now have its operator's licence revoked on October 1 following a public inquiry.

On October 9, 2017, Robert Bradbury passed Bull, who was riding in the Pershore Road cycle lane, before pulling up behind a van at the lights at the junction with Priory Road.

Bull went ahead when the lights turned green and Bradbury turned left into her. The court heard that she was "dragged under the lorry".

Bull had been in a position where Bradbury should have seen her, but he failed to do so because a tray-table, a cap, a sat-nav system, a fan, ornaments and other items had been placed in the centre of the dashboard of his 32-tonne Scania.

Asked why he had the tray table during his trial, Bradbury said: "Just so I could be one of the lads. They all had one so I got one."

S&J Transport pleaded guilty to failing to discharge its duty contrary to the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to supervise the use of the tables and was fined £112,500 and ordered to pay £3,000 in costs.

The BBC reports that a public inquiry was then opened by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, which is responsible for the licensing of operators of heavy goods vehicles.

The company claimed it was not aware of the dashboard table, but concerns were raised by PC Mark Crozier of West Midlands Police, who said that this contradicted evidence given during the trial.

The inquiry was adjourned so that he could give evidence, after which the company "accepted it had misled" the commissioner and had been aware Bradbury was driving with the table in place.

On September 2, S&J Transport was officially closed down. Its directors and transport manager have also been disqualified for five years.

Crozier said: "Truthfully, I am pleased with the outcome following this public inquiry as it further holds the company to account for the tragic loss of an innocent life.

“Suzie Bull was a doctor at the city’s hospital and her family were very vocal about the need for all those involved to take responsibility for their actions that resulted in the 32-year-old being killed.

“The doctor was wearing bright pink high-visibility clothing in a dedicated cycle lane and should have been in full view in Bradbury’s mirror for five seconds as she cycled ahead of him, but the lorry still collided with her and caused catastrophic injuries.

"I believe it could have been avoided if the driver didn't have a dashboard filled with clutter on top of a table and I'm glad that Suzie's family know we have done all we can to get justice for her death.

“Again, I will reiterate, I hope this sends a serious message to all road hauliers and drivers to review their vehicle checking processes as the safety of all road users is and always should be a priority.”

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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10 comments

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zero_trooper | 3 years ago
6 likes

Just as well PC Crozier was at both the trial and the public inquiry.

Also, shows the power of Traffic Commissioners. Closed the company down.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to zero_trooper | 3 years ago
0 likes

He might have been asked to be a witness for the commission. However if he wasn't then I'm glad he was there. 

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Projectcyclingf... | 3 years ago
2 likes

Still, a VERY WEAK PUNISHMENT for all them years of callous disregard to the highly obvious risk to innocent vulnerable lifes.
Having killed, proves how negligent and dangerous the firm and the drivers were.
Killer dangerous drivers need harsher meaningful punishments and greater publicity (as there was for Charlie Alliston, where the prejudice press went into an anti-cylist frenzy) thay may help deter the rest of them from reckless driving.

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kil0ran replied to Projectcyclingfitness | 3 years ago
3 likes

It's a pretty strong punishment for a first offence and welcome. Of course, they'll be up and running again soon with a spouse as director...

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sapperadam replied to kil0ran | 3 years ago
2 likes

Not quite so easy as that though. Maybe for the company it would be easy to get another Director, but the Operators Licence isn't so easy to get, so it's unlikely the company will return. Thankfully.

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Spokesperson replied to Projectcyclingfitness | 3 years ago
0 likes

Plus I hope the company closing down doesn't mean it failed to pay the large fines for health and safety breaches. I suspect it closed so as to avoid them, but am a bit of a cynic that way.

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
15 likes

Finally, a defeat for at least one variant of "Because I didn't see you, therefore it was just a blameless accident." But doubtless it would have been a different outcome if the name of Sun God Ra had been invoked, instead of a tray-table.

And of course the worry is that this conviction succeeded on the fact that the tray table should not have been there. But of course any other "blind spot" is not subject to the same challenge.

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TheBillder replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
6 likes

Hopefully, and I say hopefully because I don't know, Construction and Use regs should enforce standards of visibility for vehicles. If nothing else, this firm's closure might wake up the managers of a few others to make sure that their drivers are not doing the same with additional clutter.

I would like to see rear view mirror toys and air fresheners, stickers and so on, subject to the same mot check as windscreen chips. Then add in tests of window tinting. Finally, annual eye tests are recommended for all for health reasons. Why not make driving licences contingent on passing?

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eburtthebike | 3 years ago
18 likes

This is more like the proper investigation of cyclist deaths that we need, not just the bland acceptance of invalid excuses.  If Boris wants a cycling revolution, we need much more of this, with drivers and their employers being held to account for their dangerous actions.

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Simon E replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
1 like

eburtthebike wrote:

This is more like the proper investigation of cyclist deaths that we need, not just the bland acceptance of invalid excuses.  If Boris wants a cycling revolution, we need much more of this, with drivers and their employers being held to account for their dangerous actions.

Good result, for once. But I expect it wil have been ignored by the MSM.

Where are the headlines like "Callous killers jailed and licenses revoked" or "Keep dangerous thugs like this off our streets" ? Come on, name and shame the bastards. Nah, they're too busy pouring government-backed vitriol on a handful of desperately poor people in a dinghy.

And no, this government and the majority of the councils in this country do not want a cycling revolution.

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