Call for Otley lorry ban after HGV crash (From Wharfedale Observer)

Call for Otley lorry ban after HGV crash

10:40am Thursday 23rd February 2012 in News By Jim Jack

New calls for an Otley lorry ban are being made after a cement mixer lorry overturned and smashed through a safety barrier.

The accident, last Friday morning, saw the vehicle go over on a bend as it was heading down Newall Carr Road and plough into a lamppost, a crash barrier and yards of garden fencing.

The 29-year-old driver, from North Yorkshire, was airlifted to hospital by a Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopter to Leeds General Infirmary, where he is still in a serious condition.

Otley firefighters joined paramedics and police to ensure the scene, just before the road’s junction with The Gills, was safe.

Newall Carr Road was closed for hours afterwards to allow police accident investigators to examine the scene, while Leeds City Council conducted a clean-up operation.

Local politicians say they will be demanding answers about the incident and calling for action to stop it happening again.

Otley Town Council leader Councillor John Eveleigh (Lab, Ashfield) said: “Obviously our thoughts are with the driver at this time.

“Without knowing all the factors about this it is difficult to comment fully, however, I do think there should be a through-traffic, north-south lorry ban.

“The cement mixer could well have been making a delivery to an Otley address, but in general – as I and others have pointed out before – Newall Carr Road is not suitable for HGVs."

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