Logistics Company Fined for Lorry Driver’s Death

West Midlands logistics company Nightfreight (GB) Limited has been fined £300,000 for breaches of health and safety law after one of its drivers was killed by a runaway lorry at its depot in Earls Barton, Northamptonshire.



Russell Homer, 44, had just started his night shift on 7 December 2010 when the incident occurred. His own vehicle started to move as he was coupling the tractor unit to the trailer and he was crushed against a stationary vehicle.



The lorry continued to roll down a slope, travelling another 27 metres before crashing into a wall. Had the wall not been there to stop it, the lorry could have rolled out of the depot and onto a public highway.



Mr Homer suffered serious chest injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.



An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified weaknesses in the health and safety procedures followed by Nightfreight drivers, who were in the habit of coupling their vehicles without following the company’s rules. They often neglected to apply the handbrake to the tractor unit or to turn off the engine. Nightfreight was aware of this but failed to monitor its employees effectively or to ensure that 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 installing road bumps in front of the vehicle wheels or using chocks.



Nightfreight pleaded guilty to failing to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees (Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974) and to failing to conduct its business in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in its employment were not exposed to risks to their health or safety – Section 3(1) of the Act.



Northampton Crown Court fined the company £270,000 for the Section 2(1) breach and £30,000 for the Section 3(1) offence, and ordered it 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.”