A Christchurch trucking company has been warned against covering left-hand cab windows with advertising material by the coroner, after one of its drivers was convicted of killing a cyclist because he did not see her before making a left turn.
Last year John Herridge, 75, was sentenced on a charge of careless driving causing the death of 22-year-old student nurse Sharla Haerewa in April that year.
According to NZME a coroner’s report into her death revealed the passenger door window of Herridge’s truck was “covered with advertising material”.
In a report submitted to the inquest by road crash investigator senior sergeant John Isitt says:
“This cabin area has limited visibility because of the height of the window and the position of the mirrors.”
“The transom window on the passenger’s door was covered over with advertising material. This also limited the ability of Herridge being able to see if anyone was to the left of the cabin area.”
Isitt concluded that Herridge “failed to notice the presence of two cycles” before making his left turn.
According to NZME Haerewa was cycling to work at Christchurch Hospital, slightly behind another cyclist, about 6am on April 2, 2014, when she was hit by the truck on Lincoln Rd. Her bike had working front and rear lights, and she had an additional light on her florescent-covered backpack.
Herridge pled guilty in Christchurch District Court and was ordered to pay Haerewa’s family $10,000 in emotional harm reparation, and was disqualified from driving for a period of eight months.
NZME reports that Coroner David Crerar says he was satisfied the cause and manner of Haerewa’s death were dealt with by the district court, and he did not need to make a formal finding.
However, Crerar says he will forward a copy of his report to Herridge’s former employer to “ensure the visibility of a driver operating a truck in similar configuration to that of the Mitsubishi which was involved in this fatality is not, in future, compromised by the windows of the truck on its left-hand side being limited by the affixing of advertising material”.
A copy would also be sent to the New Zealand Transport Agency.
