Return of lorries sparks fears of another tragedy at Longman
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A BEREAVED woman fears history will repeat itself on a street on an Inverness industrial estate where her husband was killed in a work-related road accident.
Roslyn Mykoliw’s husband Kevin had been kneeling at the front of a 20-seater bus, carrying out an early morning brake test, when it hit an unlit parked lorry in the Longman Estate.
The tail of the lorry crashed through the bus windscreen, injuring driver Arthur Botterill (64) and killing 37-year-old D&E Coaches employee Mr Mykoliw.
A fatal accident inquiry found that the accident in October 2008 could have been avoided if lorry operators did not park there.
Following the incident, lorries stopped parking in Longman Drive but they have now come back.
And Mrs Mykoliw (44) of Boswell Park, Inshes, says they are being “disrespectful” and has called for double yellow lines to be put down.
“Nobody intentionally went out to kill my husband that day,” she said.
“They knew him, he was well-liked. But it makes me so angry to think lorry drivers have gone back to park there.
“I don’t want another family going through what we have gone through,” she said.
“My kids have gone 10 years now not knowing their dad.
“My son has a few memories of him but my daughter, who was just three months when he died, obviously doesn’t. She knows she’s missing out when she sees her friends with their dads.
“Kevin’s missed out on his wonderful children and to think that something like this could happen again makes me so angry. The fact that people are parking there again causing another safety hazard is just disrespectful. It’s another accident waiting to happen.”
This was echoed by D&E Coaches boss Donald Mathieson, who said he had noticed that the volume of lorry traffic has gone up.
“Hopefully this time it won’t be a fatality,” he added.
The Inverness Courier got in touch with two of the haulage firms whose HGVs have been seen parked at Longman Drive.
Long Lane Deliveries, with headquarters in Glasgow, refused to comment.
David Steven from D Steven & Son hauliers, whose trailer was seen parked before 9am several days ago, insisted his drivers were not parking overnight. And he said they were not transferring goods. He knew about the tragedy and said he would speak to his driver to find out why they had parked the trailer there.
James Colbourne, regional executive director for Scania Scotland which has a workshop on Longman Drive providing components for trucks, said: “We can definitively say our Inverness branch is not involved in this matter.
“We are well aware of the 2008 tragedy and ask all customers dropping vehicles off at our premises to ensure their drivers do not to park in the road, and we check that they have not. We have not witnessed any of our customers doing so.
“Neither do we park vehicles in the road ourselves – Scania Inverness is one of Scania’s UK flagship dealerships and as such provides ample parking on site.”
Following the accident in October 2008, Mr Mykoliw’s co-worker Arthur Botterill was sentenced to 210 hours of community service after he admitted causing death by careless driving.
It was said he had overtaken another parked lorry and struck a Tulloch Transport trailer unit which was unhitched and facing the wrong way, meaning its red reflectors and reflective panels were not visible to other drivers on its side of the road.
POLICE have urged drivers to “be aware of their obligations” when parking around the industrial estate and have pledged to continue daily patrols of the Longman area.
Road Policing Inspector Neil Lumsden said: “Following concerns raised about heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), particularly articulated trailers, being left parked and unattended on Longman Drive in Inverness, we are urging drivers and operators to be aware of their obligations in relation to parking.
“Road safety is of paramount importance to Police Scotland and we would like to emphasise with drivers and operators of HGVs that it is a condition for the holder of a Goods Vehicle Operator Licence from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) that all their vehicles should be kept at their ‘operating centre’’ when not in use.
“This means that HGVs and trailers should not be parked on a public road at any time when not in use and should be parked within their operating centre or within an appropriate HGV parking site.
“We recognise that Longman Drive and the surrounding industrial estates are frequently used by HGVs.
“However we would strongly discourage drivers/operators from leaving vehicles and trailers unattended because of the obvious hazard that they present to other road users.
“Officers will continue to carry out daily patrols of the Longman Drive area in partnership with the DVSA and appropriate enforcement will be taken against any vehicle committing an offence.”
GREATER clarity is needed from Highland Council and police over the parking issue in the Longman, a Highland MSP and road safety campaigner believes.
David Stewart, who is a list Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said: "Without laid down parking restrictions there does not appear to be any action that can be taken against HGV drivers who legally park in a space laid out for that purpose”.
A council spokeswoman said there were no plans to impose parking restrictions. During the fatal accident inquiry the local authority had said that double yellow lines would present “practical problems” for enforcement.
Police Scotland, meanwhile, has said it is aware of the ongoing concerns and added that the issue was being "reviewed".
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency said: "If a lorry or trailer is routinely parked outside of the registered operating base (when it is not in use), as specified on the operator’s licence, there could be consequences."
