The bin lorry crash which killed six people could have been avoided if driver Harry Clarke hadn’t lied, a sheriff has ruled.

In a written determination published today, after the five week Fatal Accident Inquiry into the crash, Sheriff John Beckett said that Mr Clarke “repeatedly lied”.

The sheriff said there are eight “reasonable precautions” that could have helped to avoid the tragedy in which a runaway bin lorry ploughed into pedestrians and shoppers in Glasgow city centre after driver Harry Clarke passed out behind the wheel, three days before Christmas last year.

He said these include five different occasions in which Mr Clarke – who hid a history of blackouts – could have told the truth about previous medical incidents.

Harry Clarke fainted behind the wheel of the 26-tonne lorry causing it to mount the pavement on Queen Street and George Square.

The trail of devastation, which lasted just 19 seconds, only ended when the truck crashed into the side of the Millennium Hotel.

The FAI into the crash heard that Mr Clarke had passed out behind the wheel of a bus in 2010.

But he failed to notify doctors, his council employers or the DVLA.

Sheriff Beckett states, in his judgement, that Mr Clarke “repeatedly lied in order to gain and retain jobs and licences”.

He said that after he passed out behind the wheel of a bus in April 2010, Mr Clarke “deliberately misled” doctors about the location of the black out and the nature of it.

As heard in the FAI, a First Bus passenger reported to a company inspector that a bus driver had passed out behind the wheel of a stationary bus.

The inspector noted in a report that Harry Clarke told him he had “blacked out”.

But the driver later told doctors he had passed out in a hot canteen.

The sheriff states: “Mr Clarke deceived doctors in the hope that he would be able to return to work sooner rather than later so that he would not lose his job with First.”

The sheriff also found that in December 2010 Mr Clarke gave false information on a medical assessment form, filled out when he first applied for a job with Glasgow City Council as a mini bus driver for special needs schoolkids.

And again when he applied for a promotion to work as a HGV driver with the council.

Mr Clarke also “deliberately concealed” information about his medical conditions from the DVLA, the sheriff found.

Sheriff Beckett said that if Harry Clarke had “told the whole truth” to doctors and to the council, in a medical exam and to the DVLA about blacking out behind the wheel of the bus in 2010, the crash might have been avoided.

Other precautions that could have been taken to avoid the crash, he said, included the doctors who saw Mr Clarke themselves informing the DVLA about his medical episode and First Bus providing Glasgow City Council with a full employment reference.

The inquiry heard that the reference was requested but is missing from Mr Clarke’s council personnel file.

In his conclusion, Sheriff Beckett said that the “single most useful outcome” of the inquiry could be to raise awareness of the dangers of driving with medical conditions.

He said: “The most effective measure to prevent such an occurrence would be to seek to avoid drivers becoming incapacitated at the wheel.

“Responsibility in that regard lies with drivers themselves and DVLA. It may well be that the single most useful outcome of this Inquiry would be to raise awareness of the dangers involved in driving if subject to a medical condition which could cause the driver to lose control of a vehicle.

Glasgow Times:

He asked media reporting the judgement to refer drivers to the DVLA website – www.gov.uk/driving-medical-conditions – for more information.

The sheriff also expressed his sympathies to the families and friends of those who died in the crash which he said “shocked the whole country”.

He added: “But for the families of six people who died, the consequences extend beyond shock to the pain of permanent loss.

“As it neared its conclusion, the inquiry heard some detail of just how important and valuable those six people were to their families, their friends and the wider community.

“It cannot have been easy to listen to the evidence, but many relatives of those who died steadfastly attended the inquiry demonstrating their love, loyalty and commitment for those they have lost.

“I am aware that others chose to keep in touch with the progress of the inquiry in other ways and I can understand why they would do that.

“Relatives in court managed to maintain composure, dignity and respect in circumstances which must at times have been very difficult indeed.

The sheriff added: “I pay tribute to the way that they conducted themselves throughout the inquiry.”