Coroner's warning after Derbyshire dad crushed by tractor trailer

A coroner says 'action should be taken' after the tragic death of a dad who was preparing to give his daughter a driving lesson. A recently published prevention of future deaths report has found a number of concerns surrounding tractors with trailers after the death of Chesterfield dad, Jon-Paul Prigent, back in July 2020.

Mr Prigent died on July 30 at Station Lane, Old Whittington, due to a trailer containing soil overturning onto the car he was in. Mr Prigent was sitting in the passenger seat preparing to give a driving lesson to his daughter before a trailer decoupled from the tractor it was hitched to, causing it to descend down the hill towards the pair.

It hit a wall and overturned, with the weight of the trailer putting Mr Prigent into a compressed position, causing asphyxiation. The tractor and trailer belonged to and was used by a skip hire company.

The equipment was being used to transport soil from the business premises and yard to the family home for use on land surrounding the property. The journey was along Station Lane, a public highway, and the trailer decoupled from the tractor as it went over a speed bump.

Coroner Peter Nieto says the decoupling of the tractor and trailer "probably" occurred due to a combination of factors. He cited the wear of the coupling components, an overloaded trailer, an unevenly distributed load and a missing tow hook as possible factors leading to the incident.

The trailer was manufactured for a maximum load of 10 tonnes but the soil it was loaded with weighed 13.8 tonnes and the uneven distribution of the soil adversely affected the centre of gravity of the vehicle. The owner and user of the tractor and trailer was required to check their roadworthiness including the hitch and coupling components before each day of use.

Mr Nieto said it was "unlikely" that a check that day, or recent checks, had been adequate because had those checks been good enough, the degree of component wear would have been noted, and appropriate corrective measures should have been taken. Independent professional vehicle testing, like when a car goes for an MOT, is not legally required for tractors and trailers used for agricultural purposes.

"The driver of the tractor stated that had he seen the degree of wear on the components, he would not have taken the tractor-trailer onto the road on July 30. The tractor and trailer did not have safety features to prevent decoupling because the legislation does not require these for tractors which are driven at below 25 miles per hour."

Airing the concerns found during his investigation, Mr Nieto said he was concerned that tractors and trailers driven on roads for agricultural purposes are not subject to periodic independent vehicle testing. This places the responsibility of each pairing on the user, something that Mr Nieto believes makes it "highly likely" that some tractors and trailers that are being driven on roads are in fact unroadworthy and in unsafe condition, something which he said "became clear" in the investigation.

Tractors and trailers driven on roads below a speed of 25mph are not required to be fitted with safety features to prevent decoupling (e.g. a safety chain, or dual safe braking system). If decoupling does occur there is nothing to prevent independent and uncontrolled travel of the trailer.

Basic hitch hook and ring coupling systems for tractors and trailers are very simple and convenient for ease and speed of coupling and use on farms, but present clear risk when used on public roads without safety features to prevent decoupling, Mr Nieto added.

Mr Nieto continued: "Tractors and trailers are increasingly large and carrying heavier loads due to farm consolidation and are correspondingly travelling further distances on public roads to reach more distant areas on larger farms and agri-business depots and processing sites. The current safety arrangements have probably failed to keep up to date and relevant and were more suited to an era when agricultural use tractors and trailers might simply have been crossing a road to get form one field to another.

"At the inquest I heard expert evidence on the above points, and that other nations, particularly in the European Union, have introduced comparatively robust legislation regarding testing and safety measures/fittings.

"I also heard evidence that the fitting of safety features to prevent decoupling is relatively low cost and that there have been previous voluntary schemes to encourage and incentivise these measures." Mr Nieto now believes action should be taken and has sent the report to six organisations, which have until January 21, 2025, to respond.

Derbyshire Live has contacted the Secretary of State for Transport, the Driving Standards Agency (DVSA), The National Farmers Union, The Agricultural Engineers Association, The British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association and The Health and Safety Executive, all of which Mr Nieto has advised to take action.

Mr Nieto said they were sent a copy of the report after its publishing on Tuesday (November 26). A DVSA spokesperson said: “We were sorry to learn of the tragic death of Jon-Paul Prigent and offer our condolences to his family and friends. We will work with the Department for Transport and other agencies to review the Prevention of Future Deaths Report from the Coroner. Our continued commitment is to help everyone stay safe on Britain's roads.”

A statement from the Health and Safety Executive said it would take the 56 days to consider the content of the report and would provide a response to the coroner. A spokesperson said: "We have received the report and will respond in due course. Our thoughts are with Jon’s family.”