A judge presiding over a case in which a worker was killed by an out-of-control lorry has slammed a logistics firm for failing to learn from two previous vehicle runaway incidents at the same site.
Russell Homer, 44, had just started his night shift at Nightfreight (GB) Ltd’s depot in Earls Barton, West Midlands, when the incident took place on 7 December 2010. The loading bay at the site is located on a steep hill, and while he was coupling the tractor unit of his lorry to the trailer, the unit began to move, gathered momentum and struck him in the chest.
The vehicle continued to roll down a slope, travelling another 27 metres before crashing into a wall. Were it not for the wall, the lorry could have rolled directly on to a public road. Mr Homer died at the scene after sustaining serious chest injuries.
The HSE investigated the incident and found that Mr Homer had not applied the handbrake on the tractor unit. The investigation found that the company was aware that drivers did not always apply the handbrake or switch off the ignition of their vehicles. There had been similar incidents in 2007 and 2008 where lorries had run down the slope and crashed into other vehicles on the site. There were no injuries in either instance but there was extensive damage to the vehicles involved.
Despite these previous incidents, the company failed to put appropriate measures in place to prevent vehicles parked on the slope from rolling away. Measures could have included flattening out the terrain, installing road bumps in front of the vehicle wheels, or using chocks.
The HSE issued an Improvement Notice to Nightfreight, which required the firm to carry out a risk assessment for the coupling of lorries and trailers at the site.
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.”
Nightfreight (GB) Ltd appeared at Northampton Crown Court on 7 January and pleaded guilty to breaching s2(1) and s3(1) of the HSWA 1974. It was fined a total of £300,000, plus £26,000 in costs.
In mitigation, the firm said it cooperated with the investigation and entered an early guilty plea. It has now installed speed bumps, which are positioned behind the first set of tractor wheels and last set of trailer wheels.
Delivering his sentence, Judge Mayo said: “In my judgement, there was a massive failing here to heed these incidents and draw the obvious conclusion that training, spot checks, and refresher courses were not enough to discharge the duty to ensure the heath and safety of employees and those not employed by Nightfreight.”
In October 2006, the company appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court after a driver was fatally crushed against a wall by a reversing lorry at its site in Willenhall. The firm pleaded guilty to breaching s3(1) of the HSWA 1974 and was fined £150,000.
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So, a known steep slope and he still forgot the mantra ‘handbrake – neutral’. Sounds like a candidate for a Darwin Award. I have a CE (HGV1) license and trailer-coupling is probably the most dangerous part of the job. The late Mr Homer’s action falls clearly in the legal definition of reckless; that is to be aware of risk but to behave as if it is not going to happen.
Not the first and not the last ‘failure to apply the handbrake fatality’. There was a driver local to me killed about 3 years ago. He stopped his LGV behind another LGV at services. He didn’t apply the parking brake and as he walked across the front of his vehicle it rolled forward slightly pinning him between the 2 vehicles; not enough to crush him but enough to suffocate him. And when you can’t breathe, you can’s scream for help.
The driver here has paid the ultimate price for a mistake; people are human and will forget to apply handbrakes on occasion as an LGV driver with many years of experience I know this happens. This haulage company also knew this from previous experience but put no safeguards in place, they could have put the humps they NOW have in place BEFORE someone was killed rather than after. The only reckless action here was from the company by putting no corrective actions in place to prevent a recurrence!
It’s a sad day when anyone comes to work but doesn’t return home, my last employer (ARR Craib Transport) invested heavily in systems to improve safety including handbrake warning systems (activated when the driver’s door is opened without park brake being applied), we also spec all new trailers to include Haldex braking system (applies trailer park brake automatically on disconnecting red line). A small investment to save a life.
Although agreed that the measures the company had in place were clearly inadequate, as a former HGV driver I am amazed that someone would leave their vehicle without applying the handbrake. Sorry, but forgetting to apply it just doesn’t cut it – although very sad it was also totally reckless.