M6 death prompts £65,000 fine for roadworks company

Date:

15 December 2009

Release No:

HSE/NW/035CumbrianIndustrials/09

A road maintenance company has been fined £65,000 after a motorist was killed on the M6 in Lancashire.

Cumbrian Industrials Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in relation to the incident and appeared before Preston Crown Court on Tuesday 15 December.

Graham Campbell died after hitting an unlit contractor's vehicle parked on the hard shoulder of the M6, just past junction 35 near Carnforth. He was travelling north on the motorway at approximately 11.30pm on 8 May 2004.

Cumbrian Industrials, of The Ridge, Chipping Sodbury, Bristol, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure the safety of the public. The company was also ordered to pay £50,000 costs.

The court heard that Cumbrian Industrials was guilty of several failings. Inconsistency in the positioning of the traffic cones, between the hard shoulder and lane one, caused uncertainty to motorists about whether the hard shoulder should be used.

Cumbrian Industrials also failed to provide detailed drawings for a change in the layout of the traffic cones, after the original plans were altered. And the cones were not moved back into place after the white line between lanes one and two had been repainted.

Joy Jones, HSE's Principal Inspector for traffic management, said:

"Everyone involved in roadworks should learn from this tragedy and consider whether they are doing enough to prevent deaths and injuries.

"Roadworks always need to be managed with great care to ensure the safety of both construction workers and road users. There should be clear signing and a consistent use of traffic cones.

"Motorway roadworks can be very dangerous places for both workers and the travelling public unless a high degree of control is maintained, and Cumbrian Industrials was legally required to make sure this was the case.

"The company should have carefully planned and co-ordinated the work of its subcontractors. A new route through the roadworks should not have been opened until the carriageway was clear of obstructions and the correct signs and cones were in place.

"We will not hesitate to take action against construction companies who fail to comply with the law."

Over the past seven years, 11 members of the public have lost their lives in incidents relating to the construction and maintenance of roads, airfields and sports facilities. More information on construction safety is available at www.hse.gov.uk/construction.

Notes to editors

1. Section 3(1) of the Health and safety at work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."

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