Fatal-crash driver blinded by rising sun, jury hears
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Bristol Evening Post
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A LORRY driver was blinded by the rising sun when he ran into and killed a pensioner, a court heard.
Paul Hollier, of Staple Hill, was adjusting the sun visor in his cab because he was dazzled by the early morning glare and never saw victim Ivor Greenslade, a court heard.
Mr Greenslade, aged 83, had suffered a blow-out as he drove from his home in Cornwall through Devon on the A30 to visit family in Wales.
He stopped his Peugeot car on the side of the dual carriageway, got out, and was standing by the boot when he was hit by the lorry, a jury at Exeter Crown Court was told yesterday.
The road was straight and Sainsbury’s lorry driver Hollier had a third of a mile of clear visibility but ran straight into Mr Greenslade without braking.
The retired antiques dealer, who lived near St Ives, died in hospital the day after the accident near Whiddon Down in October 2010.
Hollier, 57, of Alexandra Gardens, denies causing death by careless driving. He told police he was blinded by the morning sun, the court heard.
David Gittins, prosecuting, said the tachograph on Hollier’s lorry showed he maintained speeds of between 44 and 47 mph in the minutes before the accident. He said the offence of careless driving could be committed by a momentary lapse of concentration and did not require deliberate or sustained bad driving.
He said: "Mr Greenslade suffered a puncture and pulled over fairly sharply to the nearside and stopped close to the kerb. He got out and went to the back of the car. Why he did so will never be known. Maybe he intended to get the spare tyre out of the boot or moving to get across the barrier to safety. At that moment, at 8.19 am, Hollier was driving a large articulated Sainsbury’s lorry and he drove straight into the back of the Peugeot, causing the car to spin round and causing Mr Greenslade serious injuries.
“At that time the sun was rising to the east and there is no doubt it was low. It was a bright, dry, clear day and it was posing a serious hazard to drivers. Some other drivers took action to compensate for the sun and for the reduced visibility. They had a reasonable view along this straight road despite the glare. A common theme is that they all slowed down and were all able to stop in time, except for the Sainsbury’s lorry.”
Mr Gittins said Hollier told his manager he had been dazzled and was adjusting his visor when he hit a broken-down car. He told police he was temporarily blinded, and did not see the car before the impact.
The case continues.
i know one of our trucks was involved in a fatal about a year ago,ran into back of car that was stopped at traffic lights,killing car driver,from what i was told he came round bend and was blinded by sun and ran into car,was also told this was reconstructed to see if it was true,when they tried it they were also blinded by sun,never heard what happened after that
i also collected out of worksop today and noticed when i drove up to bays all the railings at side of office steps had been ripped apart,asked lad whod done it as its a easy reverse,said tesco hinkley driver had done it as hed been blinded by the sun when trying to reverse on.
I nearly had a similar thing on the A14 the sun was very strong and I didn’t see that the caravan in front of me had stopped and put his hazards on because the sun was reflecting off the back of it. Once I did realise I had time to move out no problem but I don’t think this man realised the danger he had put himself in, especially since there was a layby in sight. Probably didn’t want to damage his rim the idiot.
No I wasn’t thinking of the children and I’ve not been at it long enough to be a professional.
well 10-08 professional is as proffesional does, we have all been in circumstances where there but for the grace of god, and anyway you were proffesional enough to miss him.
Professionalism has nothing to do with it. A truck driver is no more or less human than a car driver or a pedestrian. We all have the same eye balls that are sensitive bright light. If I were to shine a bright light in to some ones face, they’d be blinded, wether or not you held up your driving licence with vocational categories like some sort of Christian cross is irrelivent.
I have been blinded by the sun on numerous occasions and worried that there may be a person or vehicle ahead of me that I could not see and the urge to slow or stop is considerable, though the worry of being hit from behind and potentially killed my self is just as worrisome.
Its a very tragic and unfortunate accident, nothing more.
Maybe this driver was blinded by the sun or maybe he wasnt, only one person knows that for sure and no-one else will ever know. The Sainsburys driver will have to live with his memory of that day for the rest of his life.
Although I have lots of sympathy for the victim and his family it does bring up the question though as to why the pensioner in the car “pulled over sharply” after suffering a puncture.
Drivers should be educated that cars can be driven on flat tyres for short distances at reduced speeds perfectly safely.
Rally drivers are often seen doing 100mph + on gravel tracks in forests with only 3 wheels on the car so Im sure someone can drive to a place of safety with a flat tyre.
Mr Hollier was aquitted/found not guilty of any wrong doing in this very sad and tragic accident earlier this week.
Mr Greenslade was my employers step-Grandfather and despite his age,was still very active and led a busy lifestyle.
Whilst obviously a very sad and upsetting experience for them,i know my boss and his family accept that this was a total accident and have wished the Sainsbury driver no ill will since it happened.
RIP Ivor.
Davnic:
Mr Hollier was aquitted/found not guilty of any wrong doing in this very sad and tragic accident earlier this week.Mr Greenslade was my employers step-Grandfather and despite his age,was still very active and led a busy lifestyle.
Whilst obviously a very sad and upsetting experience for them,i know my boss and his family accept that this was a total accident and have wished the Sainsbury driver no ill will since it happened.RIP Ivor.
Good on them, and hopefully they have closure now.
Its good to see that Mr, Greenslades family have shown understanding in this tragic matter.Any one of us could be the next Mr. Hollier.
alamcculloch:
Its good to see that Mr, Greenslades family have shown understanding in this tragic matter.Any one of us could be the next Mr. Hollier.
Exactly.
Nobody sets out on a days work with the intention of being involved in an accident but none of us can predict the future either.
Davnic:
Mr Hollier was aquitted/found not guilty of any wrong doing in this very sad and tragic accident earlier this week.Mr Greenslade was my employers step-Grandfather and despite his age,was still very active and led a busy lifestyle.
Whilst obviously a very sad and upsetting experience for them,i know my boss and his family accept that this was a total accident and have wished the Sainsbury driver no ill will since it happened.RIP Ivor.
My condolences to Mr Greenslades family & the greatest of respect to them for the way they’ve addressed the situation & are not holding this sad accident against the lorry driver. I had a bad accident many years ago where a man was seriously injured so I know some of what the lorry driver will be going through. I hope he gets support through his employers because I’m sure life would have been better for me had I been offered some sort of counselling.
BB
Drives me mad that the police feel they have to drag the survivor of a fatal accident (usually the lorry driver) through the courts, why is there always a need to find a scape goat, somebody…anybody to blame. Accidents happen that’s a fact of life, I’m sure the sainsburys driver was going through hell as it was without worrying about if he’ll be going to prison or not.
Before the do gooders have a go at me I absolutely have sympathy for the victim and his family but if he had got behind the barrier instead of going to the back of his car he would be still alive and would have saved everybody alot of upset and anguish. Glad justice was done and the driver was cleared of any wrong doing. Again my sympathy goes out to all involved. RIP
they have to drag the driver through court to make sure no wrong has been done.
Obviously the police investigation showed no wrong doing so why the court case? A lorry knocks down and kills a person first thing police do is caution/arrest the driver. Does the same happen to a train driver? Wouldn’t have thought so. All I’m saying is that nobody goes out to work to hurt anybody but accidents happen and I don’t see the point in straight away looking for someone to blame. The driver of that sainsburys lorry has been through enough without dragging him through the courts. It seems that your guilty until proven innocent not vice versa.
the police obviously thought the driver had done wrong as did the cps,so if it had`nt been for the court he would be in chokey by now
Not sure of the exact circumstances, but isn’t it standard procedure to arrest any driver who is the apparent cause (i.e. usually the one who hit something) in a serious road incident? Apportioning blame often seems to be part of the human condition on such occasions but the authorities should (quite properly) only be there to discover the true facts to ensure justice is done and to try to prevent his sort of thing from happening again. Everyone using the roads has an individual responsibility to reduce the chances of this sort of horrible incident from happening but given the wrong unfortunate combination of factors, “accidents” will happen.
It doesnt surprise me that this accident happened. Some of these heaps of ■■■■■ that we drive, was given a certificate of approval long before the current models arrived. The sun visors are not suitable. I find that vehicles with blinds are a lot easier to protect us. If you take the daf 85 for example, there is extra glass at the top of each door which allows the suns rays to penetrate, the sun visors do not cover as much windscreen as i would like ( and doesnt the sun always find the little space thats not covered )
There have been many occasions where i have had to drive using my hand as a sun/eye protector, which is dangerous in itself.
Question: How many other drivers, drive trucks whos sun visors do not give adequate protection, so far i have found the daf 85, and the Scania are the worst culprits.
I have bombarded vosa about the construction and use regulations, who are not doing their job in the right manner, so far…no response.
God bless the person who died in tragic circumstances, but thank god the driver wasnt guilty, it could easily be you or me next.
A great shame this 
I knew the driver Paul Hollier, very good guy.
Like Truckyboy I think that there has to be an engineering answer to the problems of sunstrike. The glasses in the windows could be treated to prevent high concentrations of light from entering the driving cab.
truckyboy:
It doesnt surprise me that this accident happened. Some of these heaps of [zb] that we drive, was given a certificate of approval long before the current models arrived. The sun visors are not suitable. I find that vehicles with blinds are a lot easier to protect us. If you take the daf 85 for example, there is extra glass at the top of each door which allows the suns rays to penetrate, the sun visors do not cover as much windscreen as i would like ( and doesnt the sun always find the little space thats not covered )
There have been many occasions where i have had to drive using my hand as a sun/eye protector, which is dangerous in itself.
Question: How many other drivers, drive trucks whos sun visors do not give adequate protection, so far i have found the daf 85, and the Scania are the worst culprits.I have bombarded vosa about the construction and use regulations, who are not doing their job in the right manner, so far…no response.
God bless the person who died in tragic circumstances, but thank god the driver wasnt guilty, it could easily be you or me next.
Sun visors weren’t compusory, not sure if they are now, sun glasses may help?
With the DAF, I find it worse for reversing, light always reflecting on the inside of those windows that won’t bloody move, so you can’t see in the mirrors. 