Dumper driver death prompts HSE warning
A WEST Kent construction employer has been fined £20,000 after he was found guilty of health and safety breaches following the death of an employee in a flooded quarry.
A jury at Maidstone Crown Court found Edward James Day (trading as E J Construction) guilty of breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and regulation 37(6) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
The prosecution, brought jointly by Kent Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), followed an incident on 5 December 2007 which resulted in the death of employee Mark Wilkin.
Mr Wilkin was working to extend a finger of land that was being used as a temporary roadway out into a flooded quarry at Salt Lane in Cliffe, when the site dumper he was driving came off the road and rolled into the water. Mr Wilkin was trapped under the vehicle and drowned at the scene.
HSE Inspector Melvyn Stancliffe said: ‘This case demonstrates – as do so many site transport incidents – that reliance on a competent driver and a properly maintained vehicle is simply not enough.
‘Workplace transport incidents are nearly always preventable. Had Mr Day ensured that the simple measure of providing proper edge protection to the site roads was in place then the risk of vehicles leaving the road could have been prevented.
‘The law is clear and where employers fail to safeguard their workers and injury, ill-health or death result – HSE will take enforcement action.’
The HSE’s website provides free guidance for employers and workers in the construction industry, and outlines simple and effective measures that need to be taken to control transport dangers on site.
A jury at Maidstone Crown Court found Edward James Day (trading as E J Construction) guilty of breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and regulation 37(6) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
The prosecution, brought jointly by Kent Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), followed an incident on 5 December 2007 which resulted in the death of employee Mark Wilkin.
Mr Wilkin was working to extend a finger of land that was being used as a temporary roadway out into a flooded quarry at Salt Lane in Cliffe, when the site dumper he was driving came off the road and rolled into the water. Mr Wilkin was trapped under the vehicle and drowned at the scene.
HSE Inspector Melvyn Stancliffe said: ‘This case demonstrates – as do so many site transport incidents – that reliance on a competent driver and a properly maintained vehicle is simply not enough.
‘Workplace transport incidents are nearly always preventable. Had Mr Day ensured that the simple measure of providing proper edge protection to the site roads was in place then the risk of vehicles leaving the road could have been prevented.
‘The law is clear and where employers fail to safeguard their workers and injury, ill-health or death result – HSE will take enforcement action.’
The HSE’s website provides free guidance for employers and workers in the construction industry, and outlines simple and effective measures that need to be taken to control transport dangers on site.
