Unsafe vehicle use at work: same failures, same results

摘要

In this feature we look at six prosecutions arising from workplace transport failures. Three of the cases resulted in a fatality, two in life-changing injuries and the fourth in five months off work. Five of the cases led to six-figure fines and the sixth to a custodial sentence. Together the cases typify some of the most common serious incidents involving vehicles in the workplace, in which they collide with workers, overturn and strike objects and overhead power lines. The underlying causes are all too well known: inadequate risk assessments and controls; a lack of measures to segregate vehicles from people; poor planning; ineffective systems for unloading; absence of monitoring to ensure the control measures are adhered to; and poor maintenance of vehicles.