Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into death of nursery teacher Chloe Morrison hit by lorry in Drumnadrochit calls for UK government to pass new lorry safety laws at Westminster

Lifesaving new lorry safety laws are needed to prevent a repeat of the type of incident in which a Highland woman died on the A82, a fatal accident inquiry has ruled.

Chloe Morrison (26) died in October 2019 when the extended stabiliser leg - or outrigger - of a passing lorry struck her from behind while she was walking on a footpath along the A82 just outside Drumnadrochit. The outrigger, which was part of a crane mounted on the lorry, was locked in its extended position and stretched more than a metre over the pavement.

Lorry driver John O’Donnell (54), who worked for Glenevin Ltd of Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire, had failed to notice in his mirrors that the crane’s heavy steel outrigger had slid out as he drove back from making a delivery on Skye. He was later found guilty of death by careless driving and sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for 12 months.

Following that verdict, a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into Ms Morrison’s death was held last year.

And the sheriff who led that inquiry has now urged the UK government to pass new laws ensuring that all lorry outriggers are fitted with warning alarms when not properly stowed away - in order to prevent the tragic incident ever being repeated.

At the moment, although “crane not stowed” warning systems are required by law, it is not mandatory for a vehicle to also have a “leg not stowed” warning.

In the FAI’s findings, published on Friday, Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said these need to be made law too in order to prevent Ms Morrison’s death being repeated.

He said: “No words can adequately describe the tragic loss of Chloe Morrison in the circumstances of the collision which led to her death.

“There is no doubt in my mind that her death occurred in circumstances which give rise to serious public concern.

“Without rectification of certain requirements relating to the installation of safety systems relating to lorry loaders there remains a possibility that similar circumstances could arise again. I have concluded that steps could be taken which might realistically prevent deaths in similar circumstances.”

He continued: “I recommend… that the UK government, through the Secretary of State for Transport, give consideration to the introduction of statutory provisions to the effect that all large goods vehicles (LGVs) and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) fitted with outriggers must be fitted with an audible and visible warning system and/or an immobiliser for the purpose of giving warning whilst the vehicle is in motion that the outriggers are not secure or safely stowed.

“And that the UK government… ensure that any such statutory provisions introduced should be retrospective in effect so that the requirement to fit the warning and/or immobiliser systems as stated above shall apply to all LGVs and HGVs fitted with outriggers regardless of their year of manufacture or year of installation.”

The sheriff also recommended that vehicle operators train their drivers to ensure outriggers are safely stowed away before setting off, and that drivers check that they are properly secured - and record those checks - when they carry out their inspections of vehicles before use.

Ms Morrison, who was an early years teacher at Holm Primary School in Inverness, died on October 25, 2019 while walking with her mum along the A82’s footpath at Kerrowdown Mill, less than a mile outside Drumnadrochit.

In his determination, Sheriff Cruickshank said: “A number of precautions could reasonably have been taken [by Glenevin]. Had these precautions been taken, they might realistically have resulted in death, or any accident resulting in death, being avoided.”

Moving on, he said:: “Glenevin Limited should have been aware of the absence of a ‘not stowed’ warning system in relation to the outriggers on the LGV driven by John O’Donnell albeit there was no legal obligation on the company to have such a safety device fitted to the LGV involved in the collision.

“Glenevin Limited, whilst having instructed John O’Donnell not to operate the lorry loader during loading or unloading operations, should have taken steps to ensure that John O’Donnell was trained, as part of daily walk around checks, to ensure that the outriggers were secure and safely stowed prior to commencement of the journey.”