General Chat

Lorries don't get blown over without warning, They get blown over for several reasons, usualy because the wind was to strong at a time when the vehicle was at a disadvantage such as turning/change of direction, or the driver was going to fast for the conditions,or even because the drivers boss would not let the driver park up in a safe place due to deadlines on deliveries

I had many years driving HGV's and on all occasions in high winds the effect of the wind on the vehicle was drastically reduced when i reduced my speed, eg, M62 cross wind doing 56mph vehicle virtually uncontrollable reduce speed to 48mph regained total control

Roy

I don't think anyone should be charged..in this instance it was imho a tragic accident.

I wondered how the driver could be charged when the child was in a buggy momentarily unattended when the wind blew buggy into road.

A tragic accident for all concerned.

As Porkie Pie says " other road users". It is not exactly unknown for young children to suddenly run out into the road or for mothers and nannies to lose control of prams and buggies.

If the driver did see the possible problem the obvious question is then why did he not stop in time i.e. slow down when he first saw the child. OTOH if the defense was "did not see the buggy" then was the driving "with due care and consideration for the conditions" ?

It is a while since I sat my driving test but remember the instructor ramming it into my head to watch out for :

kids rushing out into the road from the pavement / between parked cars / just after getting off the bus

prams !

pedestrians just after closing time

today I would add "pedestrians with ears attached to iPhone etc", hoodies, pushbikes, skateboard. They may all carry on like idiots but the person driving a ton or more of metal has the duty of care.

"I couldn't stop" must be the lamest and tiredest defense in traffic law.

But wind comes in sudden gusts,it can blow over high lorries without warning.

I was moving forward in a queue when the little boy appeared in front of me without warning. Your mind is too busy trying to understand the situation to make the reaction quickly enough.

The speed limit on any road is the maximum speed permitted, any driver should be driving according to conditions whether that be due to traffic, weather, or other road users, don't forget that pedestrians are other road users

Roy

The speed limit may be, say 30mph. That does not automatically make driving at 30 mph legal. The law also says that speed should be commensurate with traffic conditions. The driver could see people on the pavement and would have known that it was very windy. Thus he should have been driving a lot more slowly than usual.

Some cities e.g. Portsmouth have instituted an urban limit of 20 mph with good reason. Stopping distances from 20mph are much shorter and any collision with pedestrians / cyclists / baby buggies less likely to be fatal.

The police have taken the right decision for the case to be considered carefully in court.

There is a story in the paper today of a little girl being killed by the wind blowing her into the ath of a van. This is so sad and the van driver has been arrested for causing death by dangerous driving.

While I am,of course, wholly sympathetic toward the poor devastated mother, can I please ask you not to judge that driver because I could so easily have been in that very same position.

I was delivering in high winds when a little boy was blown across the pavement,on his feet,toward the road in front of me.Luck was with us that day because his mother managed to grab him but I know I would have killed him otherwise. He was so close I would have had no chance to stop.

Had not thought about that for years.