A new e-petition has been launched hoping to draw support for a campaign intended to mandate rear-view cameras on HGVs and other goods vehicles. The e-petition was initiated by the widow of 41-year-old Mike Ellis, workshop manager at Watsonian Sidecars who, on 2 April, 2012, was killed by a reversing truck. Ellis was road testing a customer’s motorcycle on the industrial estate at Northwich Business Park near Blockley, Gloucestershire. While riding down a hill on a one-way system, Ellis came to a halt behind an 18 tonne HGV which unexpectedly began reversing. Ellis, who died at the scene, was dragged 80 metres before the truck driver realised what was happening. The driver of the HGV was not prosecuted. The Crown Prosecution Service opined that although the driver had his windows closed and his radio on, there was no evidence to suggest he had not checked his mirrors. Furthermore, although the driver was reversing on a one-way road, the one-way system was on private land and was therefore not enforceable by law. Following the death, there have been two memorial motorcycle runs to highlight the accident and garner support for a change in the law.
In 2012, 1753 people were killed on Britain’s roads, of which 328 were motorcyclists. But according to RearView – a campaign group launched this year in the wake of Ellis’s death – the figures are under-reported owing to the fact that deaths which occur off-road are not recorded on official government road traffic accident statistics. Furthermore, RearView claims there is no statutory requirement for HGVs and similar commercial vehicles to fit reversing alarms or similar devices, only to fit approved side mirrors and improve forward vision. At the time of writing, the e-petition started by Ellis’s widow, Barbara, had been attracted 416 signatories.
www.rearview.org.uk
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Biker’s death prompts rear-view camera petition
