First Company and Director faced with prosecution

Fleet operators are urged to take note as the first Corporate Manslaughter prosecution against a company and an individual director is authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service.

On 23rd April 2009, a charge of Corporate Manslaughter (which became law on 6th April 2009), was authorised by the CPS against Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd.

The prosecution is in relation to the death on 5th September 2008 of an employee of Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd, who  was crushed to death when the sides of an excavation pit he was working in collapsed.

A director of the company has been charged with gross negligent manslaughter and with an offence contrary to Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.  As a company, Cotswold Geoechnical Holdings Ltd has also been charged with failing to discharge a duty contrary to Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The reviewing lawyer of the CPS Special Crime Division stated that they have concluded that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of of a conviction for this offence.

The director will appear in court on 17th June 2009, where he faces charges both as an individual, and on behalf of the company. If convicted for gross negligent manslaughter, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, whilst a conviction for Corporate Manslaughter could see the company faced with an unlimited fine.

PLEASE REMEMBER

All companies with employees who drive on company related business have a duty of care under Health & Safety law to ensure that, as a bare minimum,  a work related risk assessment has been undertaken, the results of which must be acted upon in an appropriate manner. This applies regardless of whether the vehicle is company owned, a hire vehicle, or is the employees own.

Please make use of our FREE online risk assessment tool and please contact us for details of our FREE driver policy document.

The “scrappage” scheme, costing the Government £300 million, is intended not only to boost the ailing car industry, but to take some of the most environmentally unfriendly vehicles off the road. It will start next month and run until March 2010 and follows the introduction of a similar scheme in Germany, which triggered a 40 per cent rise in car sales last month.

Alistair Darling – who delivered his Budget yesterday – believes the scheme will result in at least 300,000 new cars being bought in Britain by the time the scheme finishes and will kick-start an industry which was bracing itself for its worst year for new registrations since the recession of the early 1990s. Full details of the scheme, which will also apply to vans, will be announced by Lord Mandelson’s Department of Business within the next few weeks.

It will entail the Government putting in £1,000 towards the cost of a new car, with the amount being matched by the car maker. Somebody wanting to participate in the scheme would begin negotiations for a new car at the dealership by providing proof of the car’s age and the fact that they have owned the vehicle for at least a year. This would prevent somebody buying a very cheap car from a scrapyard and using it to claim the discount.

The car would also have to be inspected, either by the dealer of an official Authorised Treatment Facility. Once these formalities have been completed, a certificate would be presented which would enable the motorist to buy a new model. Manufacturers participating in the scrappage scheme will be obliged to make their entire range of cars available, including their very cheapest models, often costing less than £6,000.

Privately some industry observers fear that dealers will use the scrappage scheme to withdraw discounts they would otherwise have offered to clinch a deal. Nevertheless the car industry, which has suffered months of redundancies and production cutbacks, welcomed the Government’s decision to adopt the scheme they have spent months campaigning for.

‘This will boost the new car market and get consumers to get back into car showrooms,” said Paul Williams, chairman of the Retail Motor Industry Federation. “This will make further lay offs at car plants and dealerships much less likely”.

It was also welcomed by Paul Everitt, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. “This is good news for consumers and will get people back into showrooms, kick-starting demand in the market. The scheme recognises the economic value of the motor industry and we are determined to make it a success.”

Edmund King, the AA’s president, also hailed the introduction of the scheme. “A £2000 incentive from Government and manufacturers will help the economy, environment and employment. Cleaner, greener and safer cars will replace some of the older gross polluters,” he said.

But the “green” credentials of the scheme were questioned by some of the Government’s own environmental advisers, including Phillip Selwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust.

“The government’s announcement on scrappage contradicts the carbon friendly announcements in the budget such as money for electric vehicles, CO2 related Company Car tax and the increase in fuel duty,” he said.

“This policy will increase car purchase regardless of CO2 emissions and the government has missed a significant opportunity by spending public money to incentivise any car upgrade when they could have incentivised the lowest carbon emission cars.”

Original article here

Local governments in Britain will be able to bring down speed limits in urban areas and accident blackspots under road safety proposals announced by the government on Tuesday.The proposals, which include stiffer driving tests, are part of a 10-year strategy to cut the number of deaths on Britain’s roads by a third by 2020.

Under the Department for Transport (DfT) guidelines, local councils will be given powers to reduce speed limits to 20 mph (32.19 km/h) from 30 mph on roads close to schools and in residential areas.

They will also be able to review limits on single carriageways in the countryside.

That could see speed limits come down from the current 60 to 50 mph, but a DfT spokeswoman stressed any change would be at the sole discretion of the local council.

Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said there are now almost 17,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries a year than there were in the mid-1990s.

“But it is intolerable that eight people are still dying on our roads each day,” he added.

For younger people aged 14 to 17, a voluntary, pre-driver qualification in safe road use will count towards their car theory test. Theory and practical tests will also be improved.

The “Pass Plus” system of more advanced lessons that can be taken after passing the driving test will also be improved to encourage more drivers and insurers to take part.

In addition, van drivers will be given the chance to enhance their skills through a new qualification.

The proposals will be open for consultation until July 14 and can be found here.

(Original article here)

Corporate directors and managers who ignore the management of employees’ driving for work could face two years in jail or a fine of upto £20,000 imposed by a Magistrate as new laws come into effect. The new Health and Safety (Offences ) Act 2009 came into force on 16 January 2009. It is aimed at punishing individuals who breach health and safety rules. However, unlike the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act implemented in April last year, the breach does not have to result in a death.

Protect your company now. Bill Plant Fleetcraft Ltd takes pride in its services, delivering measurable and tangible results, not only in the field of Occupational Road Risk Management and Consultancy but also driver training to a very high standard. The results include reduced accident rates and improved fuel economy as well as lower fleet operating costs. Working in partnership with local authorities, fleet operators, contract fleet hire companies; Bill Plant Fleetcraft has a proven record, of which it is truly proud.

It is a fact, maybe unpopular with some, but safe drivers are made, not born. Statistics that have been gathered prove beyond reasonable doubt that the more pre-test training that a novice driver, particularly young males, is given the less chance there is of them being killed or seriously injured. As an example of this, in Sweden 50 hours is the recommended number of pre driving test tuition, but if 120 hours is given the number of crashes involving these novice drivers reduces by a massive 40% in the following two years.

Novice drivers, particularly the under 20s, are most at risk in the early weeks and months after they pass their driving test, the likely causes are using an old car, driving on Friday and Saturday nights, on rural roads, running off the road, skidding and losing control, in fog or poor visibility, and on bends, particularly rural roads. All of this points to what has been known for many years that there is no substitute for good tuition and lots of practice.

An event much looked forward to by motoring enthusiasts’ and the public alike was cancelled due to heavy rains over the weekend. The events were the annual Coventry Festival of Motoring on Saturday and Sunday, and the Classic Car Show at Himley Hall, Dudley, on Sunday which would have been an undoubted success with more than 500 cars entered for the Coventry event alone.

Both venues were completely waterlogged before the weekend rains making it impossible to hold this part of the festival. Part of the weekend was to include a parade around Warwickshire, and was organised by the Coventry Transport Museum. For those of you who have not paid a visit to this motoring museum, it is something that is to be recommended with over 240 cars, commercial vehicles and buses as well as around 100 motor cycles, which is the largest collection of British road transport with admission being free of charge.

Motorists are still being hit by rises in petrol prices even though oil is up to 25 per cent cheaper than in it was mid-July. Motorist throughout Britain are asking the question, “when oil increases in price, why do fuel prices react with amazing speed, but when the oil price falls, reaction to this is at a snails pace? Yet the AA reported that the average price at the pumps has actually risen by 0.5p a litre – to 112.72p – since the end of last week.

The motoring organisation said an 18 per cent drop in the wholesale price of petrol has not been fully passed on and that this reduction in price should represent a reduction of 8.5p per litre at the pump. Fuel prices hit a peak in July and they have been dropping from their peak on the 17th of that month at 119.7 for petro; and 133.25 for diesel, although not at the rate that they increased.

There are now only 25% of households without a car, according to the Department for Transport and people over the age of 70 years of age holding a full license has also increased to 52%. This rise in the elderly motoring population has led to calls from the RAC Foundation for road signs to have larger lettering and the Government is shortly to unveil proposals for how to improve the assessment of older drivers.

More females are driving now than ever before, it was once considered that it was not necessary for a woman to drive, as the husband saw to that! Of course times have moved on since the Second World War and women now represent a major proportion of the workforce and driving a car is an essential part of life, as seen by the fact that buses were used mainly by people under 30 and over 60, with 28 per cent of the population making at least one such journey every week.

The increase in the number of households that own, or have use of a car, has given rise to concern about safety on the roads. This is reflected in the travel pattern of children with the number of 7-10 year olds accompanied to school rising to 85 per cent last year, with the once common sight of children crossing the road dropping to 13 %. Times have indeed changed.

All drivers should be reminded that new careless driving laws are now in force and conviction under these can in certain cases mean a lengthy jail sentence. An example is of a driver who was in a conversation on his mobile ‘phone with his mother for a staggering 23 minutes, was inevitably in collision with other vehicles resulting in a death and serious injuries to others. As a result of his misdemeanors he received a prison sentence of four and a half years.

Talking, or using text messaging on your mobile telephone is not the only offence for which you could be imprisoned, others are drinking and eating, applying make-up or anything else which takes your concentrations away from the road will now be considered by courts. The example given highlights just how important it is for drivers to concentrate on the road ahead at all times.

You may have only just passed your driving test but already beginning to become an enthusiastic car owner or driver, keen on all things motoring. Why not harness your enthusiasm and combine this with a wonderful day out in the lake district of England?

A feast, on an action-fuelled day out, takes place on Saturday, August 30, as the West Cumbrian town of Workington lays on the inaugural Paint the Town Red event. The event will be kicked off by the actor comedian Ricky Tomlinson at 10.15 with the action being based in the town centre, Curwen Park and Vulcan Park. Lots of famous cars will be displayed including Herbie from the Love Bug, Postman Pat’s van, a range of vintage vehicles as well as a Go Cart display. There will be stunt driving, marching bands, made in Cumbria stalls, barbecues, a magic act, cookery demonstrations, a Jennings beer tent will be in attendance, with food stalls and daytime fireworks at around 4pm. Vulcan Park has all day performances from the Band of the King’s Division, junior activities and hot roast.