27/01/2017 Points West


27/01/2017

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 27/01/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

A court heard today about the chaos inside a transport company,

:00:00.:00:17.

responsible for the runaway truck in Bath that killed four people.

:00:18.:00:21.

The man who ran the company and his mechanic were

:00:22.:00:24.

The judge said they'd shown a cavalier attitude

:00:25.:00:30.

to maintaining their vehicles as Imogen Sellers reports.

:00:31.:00:33.

February 9th 2015, and a crash that changed the lives of so many.

:00:34.:00:44.

But today, Bristol Crown Court heard how it all could

:00:45.:00:46.

A 32-ton truck careered down Landsdown Lane

:00:47.:00:50.

Three men from Wales and four-year-old Mitzi Steady

:00:51.:00:58.

Today in court, the judge said the brakes on the truck,

:00:59.:01:04.

owned by Matthew Gordon, were so poorly maintained

:01:05.:01:06.

And that the lives of the four victims were lost due a bodged

:01:07.:01:16.

As a company owner, Matthew Gordon had no transport manager and was

:01:17.:01:34.

responsible for safety. His mechanic signed off vehicles are safe when

:01:35.:01:40.

clearly they were not. This subsequent loss of life and

:01:41.:01:43.

long-standing effect on the community were totally foreseeable

:01:44.:01:46.

and also avoidable. Emma-Jade the mother of Mitzi Steady

:01:47.:01:48.

told the court of the heartbreak She spoke of the devastation

:01:49.:01:51.

that their bright beautiful, vibrant, outgoing little girl

:01:52.:01:54.

will never have her She will never learn to read or have

:01:55.:02:08.

best friends to giggle and play with.

:02:09.:02:11.

Philip Potter, who was driving the lorry, was also a victim

:02:12.:02:14.

of Matthew Gordon's cavalier approach to safety.

:02:15.:02:15.

In sentencing, the judge said the lorry was so dangerous it never

:02:16.:02:22.

should have been on the road in that day in February. He said, you have a

:02:23.:02:28.

history of cutting corners with a reckless disregard for the

:02:29.:02:33.

consequences. It was highly foreseeable that death or serious

:02:34.:02:38.

injury would occur. That was the culture of your business. In

:02:39.:02:43.

sentencing the mechanic, Peter Wood, he said that he had a cavalier

:02:44.:02:50.

approach to safety. Matthew Goode was sentenced to seven and a half

:02:51.:02:57.

years in prison. Finally, the families can get on with grieving

:02:58.:03:00.

knowing that the men responsible for this tragedy are behind bars. The

:03:01.:03:11.

judge said that Matthew Gordon wasn't concerned for the public but

:03:12.:03:16.

only himself. So, what is being done to stop other companies cutting

:03:17.:03:23.

corners in a similar way? Scott Ellis has been out with the safety

:03:24.:03:24.

patrols. This is one way to make

:03:25.:03:26.

sure HGV's are safe, The operators when they sign up sign

:03:27.:03:36.

to say they will keep their vehicles in a fit and serviceable position,

:03:37.:03:41.

and if we want to send a message to those who don't, we are here and we

:03:42.:03:42.

will target them. The DVSA keep tabs on hauliers,

:03:43.:03:45.

using data such as MOT failures. That information's used by officers

:03:46.:03:50.

as they patrol our motorways. Along the M4, there are cameras

:03:51.:04:01.

spotting number though the patrol knows which lorries are coming down

:04:02.:04:05.

the road towards them. They can quickly check who is operating that

:04:06.:04:10.

lorry and if it is somebody who's got a poor track record of

:04:11.:04:12.

maintenance they are more likely to be hold in. -- pulled in.

:04:13.:04:18.

Across the UK, the DVSA checks 220,000 lorries

:04:19.:04:20.

One in three fails some aspect of the mechanical test.

:04:21.:04:23.

The Road Haulage Association wants more enforcement like this.

:04:24.:04:26.

And it wants new operators blitzed with an audit

:04:27.:04:29.

within six months of start up, saying that would have stopped

:04:30.:04:32.

The complete ignorance of the rules and the disregard for the safety

:04:33.:04:43.

rules would have been known about. It would have been reported to the

:04:44.:04:49.

traffic Commissioner who would then could have potentially taken action

:04:50.:04:54.

against them by removing their license or forcing them to take

:04:55.:04:56.

action to remedy the issues. Truck drivers we spoke to hope

:04:57.:05:01.

the Bath tragedy will send out But the reputable drivers worry

:05:02.:05:04.

corners will still be cut. People are undercutting each other

:05:05.:05:14.

all the time. And it is just the pressure on these companies to make

:05:15.:05:15.

money. It can cost a thousand pounds

:05:16.:05:17.

a month to maintain a truck. The message is profit

:05:18.:05:20.

cannot come before safety. The judge saying today

:05:21.:05:22.

Grittenham Haulage had a cavalier And this 32-ton tipper truck had

:05:23.:05:24.

"truly serious faults" that Police are setting up a mobile

:05:25.:05:30.

station outside Motion nightclub in Bristol tonight where

:05:31.:05:54.

Deakon Wilkins was last seen The 24-year-old from

:05:55.:05:57.

Weston-super-Mare remains missing despite police searches of nearby

:05:58.:05:59.

land and river. Officers will speak to people

:06:00.:06:01.

as they arrive at the club tonight in the hope

:06:02.:06:04.

of getting new information. In tonight's rugby, Bath faced

:06:05.:06:05.

Gloucester at home and it The visitors converted a try

:06:06.:06:08.

on 20 minutes which gave them a seven point lead,

:06:09.:06:12.

but Bath went ahead with four penalties and then scored

:06:13.:06:14.

this try on 74 minutes. Gloucester hit back a few minutes

:06:15.:06:16.

later crossing the line So rugby tonight and

:06:17.:06:19.

football tomorrow. We'll have those results

:06:20.:06:30.

when we're back at teatime. For now though- I'll wish

:06:31.:06:32.

you a lovely weekend A marked change to the weather. An

:06:33.:06:43.

unsettled flavour to things. With the overnight rain clearing away

:06:44.:06:49.

during the course of Saturday, there will be a dry and brighter phase.

:06:50.:07:02.

Sunday will be mild. Temperatures broadly within the range of 3-6 C.

:07:03.:07:11.

Rather fragmentary in some of that pattern, the rain. As that clears

:07:12.:07:19.

away, drier, brighter conditions but as we get further into the

:07:20.:07:22.

afternoon, more showers heading towards the West. Heavy, thundery

:07:23.:07:28.

and some quite gusty winds. Temperatures nine Celsius, and it

:07:29.:07:31.

may Good evening. Not many would argue

:07:32.:07:45.

that January hasn't been dry, but today, many of us had our first

:07:46.:07:49.

significant rain for some time, because the transition is on from

:07:50.:07:53.

cold, Continental dry air to milder Atlantic air, but the transition is

:07:54.:07:58.

a slow one. So we have had ice today, and freezing fog, in northern

:07:59.:08:02.

England. We had a little sunshine as well in Norfolk, but we still have

:08:03.:08:06.

the cold air around and about in the north. All this rain you can see,

:08:07.:08:12.

which is giving is a wet day in some areas, 10-15 millimetres of rain has

:08:13.:08:15.

fallen, as it comes north there could be some winter it issues. Snow

:08:16.:08:20.

already falling over Scotland, possibly over northern England,

:08:21.:08:26.

possibly some sleet over lower areas and fog. Not

:08:27.:08:27.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS