The driver of the lorry, 75-year-old Mr John Leadenham, crashed in to the rear of Paul and Doreen Tomlinson’s vehicle on the M1 in October 2008. Their car was then crushed against another lorry.
Mr Leadenham is accused of braking too late on the motorway having failed to note traffic braking ahead because of an accident. He braked at 17 metres before the queue of vehicles and came to a halt at 68 metres. Mr Leadenham is alleged to have told officers at the scene that he was unable to brake in time because cars pulled in front of him. However, analysis of CCTV has indicated that all cars remained in the same lanes in the seconds leading up to the crash.
Details of the speed that Mr Leadenham was driving at are not provided but appropriate stopping distances can be found on the government website : www.direct.gov.uk . Based on his stopping distance of 68 metres, it could be estimated that Mr Leadenham’s vehicle was travelling at around 55 miles per hour when he began breaking so there is no way that he could be accused of speeding. It appears that this accident may therefore have been the result of a loss of concentration from the lorry driver and this is unfortunately a common cause of accidents in the UK.
Mr Leadenham denies two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.