This week is Road Safety Week. At DVLA, we take road safety very seriously – one of the ways we do this is by ensuring drivers meet the vision standards required by law to drive. This involves assessing drivers with visual disorders and encouraging all road users to regularly check their own eyesight.  As the dark winter months draw near, it’s important to be aware that fewer daylight hours and poor weather can lead to reduced visibility when driving. Therefore, meeting the minimum eyesight standard for driving is essential for being safe on the road.

A company has been fined after an employee was struck by an excavator and fatally crushed.  A crusher was being prepared for use following transportation from another quarry to Leiths (Scotland) Ltd, Kishorn Quarry, Nr Strathcarron, Wester-Ross, Scotland, in May 2017, Inverness Sheriff Court was told. Pawel Kocik was struck by a quick hitch on the dipper arm of an excavator and crushed between the quick hitch and side of the feed hopper of a mobile crusher.

Annually, approximately 40,000 people at work will be involved in a road traffic collision which result in reported injuries, and countless others will suffer stress, anxiety and/or minor injuries from unreported incidents. This makes work-related road risk (WRRR) a priority area in the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Logistics and Transport Sector Plan, according to Mark Liddle, Scientist at Health & Safety Laboratory.

Hereford Galvanizers Limited, a company that undertakes hot dip galvanizing for the corrosion protection of steelwork, has been fined after an employee was fatally injured.  Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court heard that on 2 February 2019, an employee was operating an overhead crane adjacent to the molten zinc bath, when a tubular steel brace exploded during galvanizing, causing it to ‘rocket’ across the workshop floor, fatally striking the employee who was standing in its path.

A concrete supplier has been fined after an agency worker contracted to work at its site suffered fatal injuries following a tyre explosion.  Dudley Magistrates’ Court heard how the contractor suffered fatal injuries when using an air hose/compressed air to inflate the tyre of an articulated wheel loader.  An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident, on 28 March 2019, found that the company failed to have in place a safe system of work for inflation of the multi-piece split rim assembly wheels on the articulated wheel loader.

Take part in Road Safety Week to show that you're a responsible organisation that puts people first and cares about their safety.  By taking part in Road Safety Week, you can show that you are a responsible employer who puts people first and cares about their safety. Whether your employees drive for work or for personal use, it's a great opportunity to show staff, customers, suppliers and the wider community that road safety is embedded in your culture.

A handrail manufacturing company has been fined after an employee’s hand was drawn into a roller and crushed.  An employee of Dealercast Ltd in Hardy Street, Eccles was being trained by company director Chris Ellor to use a rolling machine to bend pieces of steel tube, Manchester Magistrates’ Court was told. While the employee was feeding the tubing between the rollers of the machine, the heavy-duty gloves he was wearing caught between the tubing and one of the rollers, on 27 March 2019. His hand was drawn into the machine injuring his little finger, which later had to be amputated from the second knuckle.

A COMPANY was fined £246,000 after two of its employees went on to suffer “severe and life-altering” stages of a potentially agonising medical condition.  Frontier Plastics Ltd was brought before the courts by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over failings at its Pontllanfraith site at Newbridge Road Industrial Estate.

If you’re regularly faced with social risks such as aggressive behaviour or verbal abuse, carrying a dedicated personal safety device is essential to ensure you can discreetly call for help, without needing to make a call on your mobile phone (because this could cause the situation to escalate).  However, what if social risk isn’t a regular occurrence for you but you’re sometimes faced with situations that make you feel uncomfortable?

A company has been fined after a worker suffered serious injuries following an explosion at their factory.  Chelmsford Magistrate’s Court heard how, on the 24 September 2019, employees at Fabric Flare Solutions Limited, Unit 7, Gosford Road, Beccles, Suffolk, were treating fabrics with a hydrophobic coating that gave off flammable vapours both during the application process and when subsequently drying in the spray room.  The flammable vapours ignited causing an explosion just as a 51-year-old employee was walking past the spray room. The blast threw him several metres across the factory and he suffered serious burn injuries to 15 per cent of his body.