Content area
Full text
After an inquiry into a cranelinked accident in Scotland in 2008 that killed a woman and her two children, British MP Sir Robert Smith is calling on the UK Government to introduce independent monitoring of mobile crane carrier roadworthiness. Cristina Brooks reports.
A family killed
Ann Copeland, 45, and daughters Ciara, 7, and Niamh, 10, were killed in a car crash in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 2008 after their car lost control on a slick road.
A 2012 fatal accident inquiry at Stonehaven Sheriff Court, presided over by Sheriff Kenneth Stewart, heard experts say that hydraulic oil leaking from a Terex PPM ATT400 all terrain owned by William Whyte Cargo Handlers Limited was the probable cause of the slick.
Oil came from a hose connected to the suspension valves that play a role in sensing whether the crane is level. The hose spurted oil on the road when the suspension system was leveling the crane as it rounded bends, testified consulant expert Timothy Watson.
Accident investigator Daniel Pointin told the court it would have taken just twenty-four seconds to leak four-to-five gallons of oil through a 3mm hole.
The court said that if William Whyte's had in place a system of inspection and planned preventative maintenance and ensured that crane drivers actually carried out daily and weekly checks, the accident would have been less likely.
The hose had been incorrectly positioned with reference to the manufacturer's guidelines, so it rubbed against the transmission mounting until it started breaking. The hose should have been routed away from contact with other parts of the crane.
Watson, who testified at the fatal accident inquiry, explains the leak could have been caught. He says, "The hose should have been checked as part of the routine maintenance procedure, although this might have involved...