AA issues warning to classic car owners after MG 'folded like a penknife'Following the death of teacher Nick Sennett, the AA says classic cars 'simply do not have the damage resistance of modern vehicles'
Motoring organisations are warning classic car owners they could be driving death traps after a teacher was killed when his MG "folded like a penknife".
Nick Sennett, 58, had hired the MGB GT convertible for a pleasure run but was hit from behind by a short-sighted and overworked minicab driver.
The sports car collapsed around him and Mr Sennett, who taught economics at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Older vehicles do not have crumple zones and even recent classics like Minis and Ford Capris will come off a lot worse in a collision with the latest models.
Ian Crowder from the AA said: "These cars simply do not have the damage resistance of modern vehicles.
"Classic car owners and users really need to be aware of the risks when they take the road in a less resilient vehicle.
"This was obviously a terribly tragic episode for which a driver has been convicted and jailed."
Mr Crowder said most other road users often drive more respectfully when they are near to classic cars.
But the owners and users of older cars need to take extra care when they take to the road.
"They need to drive in a manner which respects modern vehicles and they need to know the risks," Mr Crowder said.
Minicab driver Kugannesan Balasubramaniam, 34, was jailed for just nine months after he was convicted of causing death by careless driving.
Judge Jeffrey Pegden QC told him: "The harm you have caused cannot be overstated and no sentence passed upon you can ever reflect the catastrophic and devastating loss to Mr Sennett's family.
"The deceased was a devoted, loving and loved husband, father at the centre of what might be described as an idylilic long-term family life.
"He had a great range of friends and colleagues, wide-ranging interests and was adored by those who were in some way a part of his life," he said.
"You were driving a Peugeot minicab, had collected a fare from Heathrow and were on your way to Kings Cross.
"Traffic was heavy and was stopping and starting, it was a fine clear day.
"In that outside lane you entered an area of clear road at at this point you were speeding at 48mph in a 40mph zone.
"The vehicles in front of you in same lane but further down the road had stopped an were stationary but you failed to notice those stationary vehicles in front of you, indeed your passenger describes you as accelerating in that area of clear road.
"The consequence was you drove into the back of Mr Sennett's stationary 1963 MGB car.
"If you braked, in my judgement it was only in the last split-second.
"You hit the deceased's vehicle, causing him catastrophic head injuries - the speed of the impact is illustrated by the massive damage to that classic car.
"Despite the valiant and prolonged efforts of members of the public trying to save Mr Sennett's life, he was in fact pronounced dead at the scene.'
Balasubramaniam, who listened to the judge with the aid of a Tamil interpreter, nodded before he was led away to the cells.
He was speeding when he ploughed his Peugeot 5008 into the back of the 1963 car on the A40 Westway in west London.
The minicab driver had collected a sixth-form student from Heathrow Airport and was taking her to an address in northwest London, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Balasubramaniam had worked 90 hours in the previous seven days for the cab hire company One to One.
"He was over-tired when he was driving and over-tired in circumstances where he had gone into that situation for commercial gain," said prosecutor Nick Bleaney.
The driver also failed a basic numberplate reading eye test when officers attended the scene.
"Notwithstanding everything else, he was driving that day with inadequate eye sight," added Mr Bleaney.
Shortly before the collision another driver saw Balasubramaniam making a mobile phone call as the traffic built up.
"She noticed this defendant was starting to get frustrated and slapping the steering wheel with his hands, Mr Bleaney said.
"She then noticed the line of traffic in front of their car and it wasn't clear to her whether it was completely stationary or moving slowly.
"But she noticed around that point that the defendant started to speed up to a speed that would be appropriate to an empty road.
"She simply watched as the defendant drove into a car in front.
The force of the impact also shunted cars ahead of the MGB in the four-car crash, jurors heard.
"Essentially the MGB folded like a penknife," said Mr Bleaney.
Balasubramaniam told officers at the scene that the vintage car pulled suddenly in front of him.
But a tracking device inside the vehicle recorded the minicab driver was doing 48mph on the 40mph road and he was convicted by the jury.
"It is difficult for Mr Balasubramaniam to express through me the level of regret and remorse that he feels," said Sam Robinson, defending.
"What is really being said here is that, at the very least, he just simply didn't see Mr Sennett before this collision took place.
"It may well be because this is a low, classic sports car... It is an incident which in lots of ways defies any kind of logic as to how it happened."
Mr Sennett was an "inspirational" teacher who counted chef Heston Blumenthal as one of his former pupils.
In a letter to parents, headmaster David Goodhew said: "It is clear he touched the lives of so many and is remembered with tremendous warmth and affection. The school has lost a great teacher, a dear tutor and a good friend."
Mr Blumenthal said: "What made Nick stand out was his very calm, playful banter.
"He was one of those teachers you could be very comfortable around. He was really lovable, really funny, chilled out."
Balasubramaniam, of Wembley, north-west London, was cleared of causing death by dangerous driving but convicted of the lesser alternative charge of causing death by careless driving.
He was sentenced to nine months immediate custody, disqualified from driving for 18 months and must take an extended driving test when he is released.
source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... knife.html
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