Archive for the ‘Lighthouse Blog’ Category

Drug Driving Offence Unveiled

Legislation was unveiled in the Queen’s Speech last week which will create a specific drug driving offence. Currently police have to demonstrate that driving had been impaired by drugs in order to prosecute.

Under the proposed legislation it will automatically be an offence to drive a motor vehicle if you have certain controlled drugs in your body in excess of specified limits. This will make it much easier for police to take action against drug drivers.

Devices to screen for drugs in the body are expected to receive type approval from the Home Office by the end of the year.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said:

“Drug drivers are a deadly menace – they must be stopped and that is exactly what I intend to do.

“The new offence sends out a clear message that if you drive whilst under the influence of drugs you will not get away with it.

“We have an enviable record on road safety in this country and I want to keep it that way. This measure will help to rid our roads of the irresponsible minority who risk the lives of innocent motorists and pedestrians.”

An independent review of drink and drug driving law in 2010 recommended that a new specified limit offence should be developed. The exact drugs covered by the offence and the specified limits for each will be determined following advice from an expert panel and a public consultation.

Earlier this year the Department for Transport announced the formation of the panel. Members will include experts in the field of alcohol and drug misuse and will also work with officials from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department of Health.

The penalty for the new offence will be a maximum of 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000, and an automatic driving ban of at least 12 months.

Source: Driving Standards Agency May 2012

LST Comment: All commercial drivers and anyone who drivers for a living or commutes by care, should take heed as this announcement covers all drivers, and not just driving for social domestic and pleasure. We will ensure that this message is passed to all our Drivers CPC and International CPC courses. Business owners should ensure that this message is communicated at all levels.

Fines for Failing to Adequately Protect Members of the Public

If you were waiting for a bus would like to be injured by a falling piece of machinery?

Well a Hertfordshire building company has been fined for injuring a woman as she waited for a bus. The incident occurred on 26th of September 2008 and was preventable!

Magistrates’ Court heard on the 18th of April how a member of the public was waiting for a bus on York Road, London, when she was hit by a piece of machinery being lifted to the fifth floor of a nearby office block.

The woman suffered severe multiple injuries including several broken bones and cuts and swelling to her head. She was in hospital for eight days and the injuries have affected her work and studies.

The building was being refurbished and instead of traditional scaffolding being used on the site, a mast climber had been erected.  This allowed workers to be raised and lowered on the outside of the building.

The HSE investigation found that a crane and lifting slings were being used to lift a 380kg air handling unit. The crane was not fitted correctly and during the lift, the unit hit a mast climber and was knocked out of its sling causing it to fall from height and hit the member of the public.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Bose Ogunsekan said:

“Concentra Ltd failed in its duty to manage the safety of persons affected by its activities. A high risk activity such as using a crane to lift this sort of load on the site should have been fully risk assessed during the planning stages of the project. In addition, further measures that would have also protected members of the public from site traffic, such as an alternative pedestrian route and a temporary bus stop elsewhere, could have prevented injury to passers by.”

Concentra Ltd were found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in relation to the incident. The firm was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £21,000

Source: HSE

LST Comment: This story yet again tells the facts about the importance of better planning and management of work tasks that are being carried out. Take the time to think of what would happen to you and your company if an event like this were to happen involving you. An act like the one above will jeopardise the validity of your company and ruin the years of hard work put into making it a success. The HSE document which gives guidance for the protection of the public is HSG 151.

Take the time to prevent rather than taking the time to defend!

Landlord Makes False Entries into Gas Safety Records

LST asks: Do you own or maintain commercially run premises? Are you a landlord to tenants? Please read on and understand why you need to make sure that you do everything you need too.

A landlord has been prosecuted for putting the life of a tenant at risk by falsifying a gas safety document.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took legal action against Terence McBride after it discovered he had changed the dates on the record for an annual gas safety check to suggest it was still valid.

Trafford Magistrates’ Court in Sale heard his tenant contacted the authorities after suspecting a carbon monoxide leak at the house she rented on Bell Lane in Pemberton in May 2011. A National Grid engineer visited the property and sealed off the gas supply after finding a leak.

The court was told Mr McBride had arranged a gas safety check at the house through his letting agents in April 2009, which expired a year later. When he decided to hire a new agent in April 2011, he provided a copy of the gas safety document with the dates altered so that it appeared to still be current.

A tenant moved into the property on 3 May 2011, but it was three weeks before the gas leak was detected.

Terence McBride pleaded guilty to a breach of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 by failing to arrange an annual gas safety check.

Mr McBride, of Sawyer Drive in Ashton-in-Makerfield, received a community order requiring him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £600 towards the cost of the prosecution at a hearing on 13 April 2012.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Philip Strickland said:

“If Terence McBride’s tenant hadn’t contacted National Grid after suspecting a carbon monoxide leak then I dread to think what could have happened to her. It is a legal requirement on all landlords to have an annual gas safety check and Mr McBride put the life of his tenant at risk by failing to arrange for a registered gas engineer to visit the property for more than two years. This case should act as a warning to landlords that if they put their tenants’ lives at risk by ignoring the law then we will take action against them.”

Around 20 people die every year in the UK from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by unsafe gas appliances. Landlords are legally required to arrange an annual inspection of their properties by an engineer registered with the Gas Safe Register.

Paul Johnston, Chief Executive of the Gas Safe Register added:

“Some landlords may think that failing to do an annual check on gas appliances, or not having a landlord’s gas safety record, isn’t that important or may save them some money. What they fail to realise is that these checks are legal requirements and are in place to save lives. If you are a landlord, make sure you stay on the right side of the law when it comes to gas and always use a Gas Safe registered engineer.”

Homeowners and landlords can find a registered gas engineer, or check someone is registered, by visiting Gas Safe Register

Get the right advice and be sure you know what your legal duties are and take the time to find out if you’re unsure.

Source: HSE