Pedestrian and vehicle safety is a crucial aspect of workplace health and safety. It is the law to ensure people are kept safe in areas where employees are working near a vehicle route. A recent case highlights how important this law is.
A bus company and a commercial cleaning company have been fined after a man was killed at a bus depot.
The man was hit by a reversing bus that was driven by a colleague. The bus was reversing out of the cleaning area and struck the individual, where he sustained fatal injuries.
The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) investigated the incident. It was found that the bus company failed to correctly assess the risks of a pedestrian coming into contact with a vehicle and failed to implement a suitable system to control the risk. There were also unsuitable systems in place to protect pedestrians from vehicles that were moving around the depot and walkways were not being used correctly.
Following the investigation, the commercial cleaning company was found guilty of breaching section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and fined £1000.
The bus company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and were fined £32,000 and ordered to pay costs of £22,392.
Employers of companies that involve pedestrians and vehicles must have risk assessments and safe systems of work in place. The risk assessments should be made available to all employees and all employees should attend regular training. This is so they are familiar with the safety procedures their company has implemented. As part of the training, the employees can suggest additional control measures to reduce the risks of being struck by vehicles.
As advised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), when creating a risk assessment for pedestrians coming into contact with vehicles, the following should be considered:
Here at HPC, we can create risk assessments specific to your business requirements, to ensure you are legally compliant. We can offer assistance with any risk assessments such as ‘Separating Pedestrians and Vehicles’, as well as implementing a safe system of work or a training programme.
To find out more information or to discuss your pedestrian and vehicle safety needs with one of our qualified consultants, please get in contact with our team of experts.
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