A MOTORIST who died after being thrown out of his van on crashing into motorway barrier could have survived if he was wearing a seatbelt, an inquest heard.

Raymond Bailey died from multiple injuries after he was ejected out of the passenger window of his blue Renault Master van after careering into the barrier on Junction 1A of the M40 just after 2pm on July 31.

His body was found along with a shoe and a satellite navigation device behind the crash barrier, while the van travelled 400 meters before it came to standstill further along the carriageway, the inquest heard.

Collision investigator Andrew Evans told Beaconsfield Coroner’s Court the crash was survivable had the 61-year-old been wearing a seatbelt.

He said: "There’s a chance he could have slipped out of the side of the seat belt but it would have been sufficient enough to slow him down. Sometimes we find people on the passenger side but not out the vehicle."

A post mortem failed to determine whether the Twickenham driver had a medical emergency at the wheel – but this is suspected by investigators, who found no evidence Mr Bailey had attempted evasive manoeuvres.

A data recorder in the van revealed it had been travelling at normal motorway speeds until about 2.04pm when it began to slow rapidly.

Chief Inspector Andrew Pink from the Metropolitan Police was travelling along the M40 back to London when he noticed the driver-less van sliding down the slopping slip-lane in close proximity to the barrier.

He told the court that he dialled 999 before reversing back up the motorway to a van and police car parked some meters behind him to the spot where Mr Bailey was laying.

Officers and the two men from the van treated him but he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics about 20 minutes later.

Recording a verdict of death by a road traffic collision, the Buckinghamshire Coroner Richard Hulett said: "Had he had his seat belt on we probably wouldn’t be sitting here today.

"On balance, it is likely that he would have got away with relatively minor injuries, which is a great shame.

"As to why this happened, we will never know. It’s hard to prove the medical emergency happened, but there were no mechanical faults with the vehicle, he wasn’t drinking or taking illegal substances."