The widows of two cyclists killed after a lorry driver fell asleep at the wheel called last night for tougher legislation to make Britain’s roads safer.
Robert Palmer was jailed yesterday for 8½ years after mowing down Andrew McMenigall, 47, of Edinburgh, and UK-born Toby Wallace, 36, of Philadelphia, who died almost instantly in the crash on the A30 in Newquay, Cornwall, on July 2 last year.
The pair, who worked for Aberdeen Asset Management, were 40 miles into a 960-mile charity bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise money for the Kirsten Scott Memorial Trust when they were hit by Palmer’s white Renault lorry. Mr McMenigall was also raising money for the Edinburgh-based charity It’s Good 2 Give.
At an earlier hearing at Truro crown court, Palmer, 32, of Bude, Cornwall, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing death by dangerous driving. He admitted a further charge of dangerous driving in relation to a second crash weeks later on the A30 near Okehampton.
At the time of the crash, Palmer — a night-time delivery driver for Frys Logistics Ltd in Launceston — had had little sleep because during the day he was working on vehicle maintenance for the company. He was also sending text messages on his iPhone while making deliveries for the discount store Lidl between Cornwall and Weston- super-Mare, the court was told.
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Jailing the father of one, Judge Christopher Harvey Clark, QC, said: “You had almost certainly fallen asleep, but it is equally clear you were disregarding the rules of the road by texting continuously.” Palmer was also banned from driving for ten years.
In a joint statement after the case, Anne McMenigall and Claire Wallace — the widows of the cyclists — said they were devastated at the loss of their husbands, who “were exceptional and giant men”. They added: “It is a tragedy that so many other families are also mourning loved ones who have been killed on Britain’s roads, particularly when many of these deaths were completely avoidable.
“So many of these families do not ever see a sentence brought against the person who has killed their [loved one].
“UK transport laws are lenient, charges are difficult and onerous to attain, and less and less resource is being dedicated to road traffic collisions . . . the rise in the popularity of [cycling] must be met by those with the responsibility to improve our transport infrastructure and improve education for drivers.”