Lorry driver's death lands firm in court

Date:

7 January 2013

Release No:

HSE/M/03/13

A West Midlands logistics company has been fined £300,000 after one of its drivers was killed by a runaway lorry in Northamptonshire.

Russell Homer, 44, had just started his night shift at Nightfreight (GB) Ltd, on Doddington Road, Earls Barton, on 7 December 2010 when the incident occurred.

He was crushed against a stationary vehicle when his own vehicle moved off while he was coupling the tractor unit to the trailer.

After striking him the lorry continued to roll down a slope, travelling another 27 metres before crashing into a wall. Had it not been stopped by the wall it may have rolled directly out onto a public highway.

Mr Homer, a father of two from Overstone, died at the scene from a serious chest injury.

Northampton Crown Court heard today (7 January) that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified issues with Nightfreight drivers coupling up vehicles without following the company's rules. They were not applying the handbrake to the tractor unit or turning off the engine.

This dangerous practice was known to Nightfreight who failed to effectively monitor its employees and ensure they followed the correct, safe working procedure.

The HSE investigation also found that there were no appropriate measures in place to prevent vehicles parked on the slope from rolling away, such as flattening it out, installing road bumps in front of the vehicle wheels, or using chocks.

Nightfreight (GB) Ltd, of Birches Rise, Willenhall, West Midlands, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £270,000 for the Section 2(1) charge and £30,000 for the Section 3(1) offence. It was also ordered to pay costs of £26,000.

After the hearing HSE inspector Judith McNulty-Green said:

"Mr Homer's death was entirely preventable and his life has needlessly been lost."

"It happened because of a poor and dangerous practice that the company was aware of but did nothing to stop. Appropriate controls should also have been in place to ensure vehicles did not roll away.

"What is so disappointing is that there had been previous similar incidents at this company and at the same site. Lessons should have been learned from these but weren't."

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."
3. 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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