Covid-19 & Prosecution of employers
Coronavirus has dominated the headlines and amongst all this some commentators have speculated that employers may be about to face prosecution if they don’t take all Covid-19 precautions possible to protect staff and third parties from infection. Now it is correct to say that employers in the UK owe duties under the Health and Safety at Work…
Corona: An enjoyable beer or new legislation…
Coronavirus came upon the world as an unknown and everyone is now trying to ‘fight’ their way through what is COVID-19 and a severe pandemic. Unlike Corona beer which is rather enjoyable especially on a warm sunny day, the coronavirus is anything but a chilled afternoon sitting in the sun supping on your favourite beverage. It could…
HGV death leads to almost half million pound fine
A truck company that buys, refurbishes and sells Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and trailers has been sentenced after the death of 63-year-old self-employed worker William Price. On 21 February 2013 Mr Price suffered fatal head injuries when the half-ton frame of a lorry trailer, he was dismantling, fell on his head at the Marston Industrial…
DVSA Compliance – Legal column in FACTS magazine
Reducing costs is nothing new especially when it comes to the government schemes. So it was only time before the cost cutting reached the DVSA. It introduced two initiatives, the Remote Enforcement Office and the Earned Recognition Scheme, aimed at performing fewer road-side checks on compliant fleets. How is DVSA compliance changing? In relation to…
Insurance legal checklist – FACTS legal column
Over 100 people are killed and seriously injured every week in crashes involving someone who was driving for work. It is an offence under road traffic law to ‘cause or permit’ a person to drive a vehicle that is in a dangerous condition or without a valid licence or at least third party insurance. Employers…
Price fixing for HGVs – can you claim?
Price Fixing – The Infringement The European Commission has issued a record £2.9 billion fine to five major Scania truck manufacturers after it was found that they co-ordinated truck pricing and colluded on passing on the costs of compliance with emissions rules from 1997-2011. Buyers of medium and heavy goods vehicles were significantly overcharged for…
The Corporate Manslaughter/ Homicide Act part 3
In part 1 and in part 2 we looked at The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act and how applies to organisations which cause a person’s death or exhibit a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed to the deceased. Here we will explore the penalties and sentencing . As always, this is…
The Corporate Manslaughter/ Homicide Act part 2
In part 1 we looked at The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act and how applies to organisations which cause a person’s death or exhibit a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed to the deceased. Here we will explore the role of senior management and individual liability. As always, this is for…
Worker crushed and two firms fined
A worker suffered multiple serious injuries when a trolley carrying hydraulic rams toppled on its side and trapped him between it and a stillage. DHL and JCB have both been fined in relation to the incident, which happened on 16 October 2013. Stafford Crown Court was told how the DHL employee was auditing in-coming deliveries…
Abnormal Loads – FACTS magazine legal column
Of all the challenges presented by transport and logistics perhaps the largest comes with an abnormal load, as the regulations here are complex. Known as an ‘Abnormal Indivisible Load’, it can’t be broken down into smaller loads for transport without undue expense or risk of damage. For example, a 180 tonne transformer. An AIL is…
Breaking down the law: Corporate Manslaughter/ Homicide Part 1
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act applies to organisations which cause a person’s death or exhibit a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed to the deceased. In this three part series, we will break down the law and how it applies to you, highlighting key issues and explaining the consequences. As…
Road Safety, operators licences and duties checklist
“Dear Carole I’ve heard the focus of the DVSA’s enforcement activities are changing. Our MD, who usually handles everything, has been off work unwell and is unlikely to return any time soon, so most of his duties have fallen to me. Can you give me a kind of legal checklist to keep me right?! Andrew…
Dear Carole… Mobile Device use & driving…
Dear Carole We are all under huge pressure to check our fleet management software at certain points of the day. I’ve found that keeping the iPad in the cab with me and checking it while I’m at a red light or stuck in slow moving traffic is the only solution. I’m guessing this probably isn’t…
Dear Carole… Tachographs and taking chances…
“Dear Carole, I’m a long-distance lorry driver and some of the guys in the fleet have got this hack for our digital tachographs. They say it’s brilliant and untraceable, but I’m pretty sure our company has some good software of their own. I don’t really want to risk it, but I’m at a real disadvantage…
Farewell to the Jungle
As harrowing as the images on the news may be, I suspect many haulage and delivery companies have welcomed the news of the dismantling of “The Jungle”. The French authorities have been clearing the refugee camp in Calais and busing thousands of migrants to centres across France. It had been a major problem for lorry and…
HSE warn HGV drivers over coupling systems
HGV drivers are frequently putting lives at risk by not following basic safety procedures when coupling and uncoupling vehicles, the Health and Safety Executive have warned. The workplace health and safety regulator urged drivers to apply parking brakes and use (or retrofit) warning alarms to avoid a repeat of an incident in January 2015 when…
Festive Season… drinking… driving…
We’ve all been there. It’s the festive season, everyone’s celebrating and you have a few too many drinks. You wake up the next morning and think: “Well that was a bit heavier than I expected, I hope I’m OK to drive…” But imagine you wake up thinking that and then climb into a lorry full…
Dear Carole… Worried about overloaded vehicles…
Dear Carole One of our suppliers has changed the way they package their goods and I’m concerned there’s going to be a knock-on effect for the weight our lorries are carrying. I’ve got a lot on my plate at the moment – how serious is this? Michael Anderson, Leeds Short answer? Pretty serious! I understand…
The Importance of Traffic Management.
On average, 7 workers are killed every year as a result of collisions with vehicles or mobile plant on construction sites. Approximately a further 90-100 are seriously injured. Workplace transport incidents are the second most common cause of serious and fatal incidents in the construction industry, yet they could easily be avoided by having proper plans…