Loading ban on Hertfordshire road after cyclist death

Lorries will be banned from loading and unloading on a stretch of road in Hertfordshire after a cyclist was killed in an area described as “an accident waiting to happen”.

David Andrews collided with a stationary HGV on the A4251 Tring Road in July 2022 and suffered significant traumatic injuries. He died in hospital in London the following day.

The vehicle had stopped outside commercial premises and was waiting to unload, but an inquest into the cyclist’s death found there was a risk to other road users in allowing this to occur.

A forensic collision investigator said he thought the current ability for HGVs to lawfully stop on the road represented an ongoing risk.

The road is a single carriageway measuring seven metres across with a 40mph speed limit and one lane serving each direction.

In a report to prevent future deaths, assistant coroner Jacques Howell said: “Photographs taken of the scene show that notwithstanding the heavy goods vehicle had stopped as far to the left as possible, the vehicle still took up nearly all of the southbound carriageway which bends to the right at this point.

“Heavy goods vehicles frequently park on the southbound carriageway in order to unload, and witnesses have described this as ‘…an accident waiting to happen.’”

Howell wrote to Hertfordshire County Council and said action needed to be taken to prevent more deaths and the local authority has now responded saying it intended to stop HGVs from stopping on the road:

“In light of the issues highlighted by the coroner’s report, we are looking to introduce a ban on lorries loading and unloading on this stretch of the A4251,” said a council spokesman. “We hope to begin the statutory and consultation processes needed to introduce these restrictions in the near future.”

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