Loud radio made lorry driver unaware he killed biker in Nitshill
- Published
The collision happened on the B773 at Nitshill Road in Glasgow
A lorry driver's radio was so loud he was unaware he had killed a biker, a court has heard.
Alistair Campbell, 43, hit 62-year-old George Glasgow while changing lanes approaching traffic lights on the B773 in Nitshill, Glasgow, in August 2020.
Mr Glasgow's motorbike was pushed along the road while he was pulled under the truck before being run over. He died at the scene.
Campbell admitted causing death by careless driving.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Campbell was behind the wheel of a Scania XT lorry, returning to his place of work at about 10:00 after making deliveries of crushed stone.
He had been driving alongside Mr Glasgow when they approached an amber light.
The trucker had been listening to the radio at a loud volume - number 20 on a scale of 32.
He could not hear Mr Glasgow's engine and was unaware of the crash. He kept driving.
Prosecutor Harry Findlay said: "Officers considered the volume was loud and potentially a limitation for Campbell in appreciating the presence of Mr Glasgow and his motorbike pre and post-collision."
Campbell was travelling at 34mph. The traffic lights ahead showed amber which was to change to red. Campbell, in lane two, did not slow down.
Kept on driving
A dogwalker heard Mr Glasgow's engine revving shortly before a "bang."
Mr Findlay said: "As the lorry continued to move towards the junction, it continued to move to the left into lane one.
"The front nearside corner of the lorry made contact with the rear offside of the motorcycle."
The motorcycle rotated clockwise and slid across the road surface.
Mr Findlay added: "The lorry continued to travel eastwards and the motorcycle and the deceased went under the lorry and were carried along by it.
"The motorcycle became lodged under the front of the lorry with the rear panier frame on the motorcycle coming to rest against the front axle of the lorry.
"The lorry continued across the stop line at the junction and the deceased landed on the roadway.
"As the lorry started to turn right onto Nitshill Road, the nearside wheel ran over him."
Campbell later told witnesses at the scene that he "did not see" Mr Glasgow or know where he came from.
He added: "I didn't know I had even hit him, that's why I kept driving."
Mr Glasgow's injuries were to the chest and abdomen, including crushing injuries as well as fractures to the spine and rib cage.
Catastrophic consequences
Collision investigators established that the lorry's sound system was set to a high volume and considered to have masked the engine noise of the motorbike.
They reported that Campbell failed to give adequate consideration as to the safe performing of a right turn ahead and did not see the biker behind or to his nearside despite the mirrors and other features on the vehicle.
They added: "He initiated a manoeuvre involving entry into the nearside lane without knowing it was safe to do so."
Sheriff Daniel Kelly ordered Campbell, of Lanark, South Lanarkshire, to do 150 hours of unpaid work and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.
He said: "Your consequences were catastrophic and tragic. Mr Glasgow was clearly loved, thought of and missed by his family.
"It was a short lapse of judgement that led to long term tragic consequences.
"There is no sentence which I can impose which will meet the loss his family have suffered."
- Published29 August 2020
