$650,000 fine after delivery driver crushed by road safety barrier
29 May 2024•BlueSafe Team•Source: WorkSafe VIC
Saferoads Pty Ltd, trading as Road Safety Rentals, has been fined $650,000 after a delivery driver was fatally crushed by a road safety barrier during unloading in November 2021.
The company pleaded guilty to two charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday. It received a $425,000 fine for failing to protect people other than employees from health and safety risks, and a further $225,000 fine for failing to keep the workplace and its entry and exit points safe.
The incident occurred while a forklift was unloading stacked road safety barriers from a flatbed semi-trailer. Each barrier weighed about 925 kilograms. An unrestrained barrier fell onto the delivery driver, who was standing nearby.
The 34-year-old driver suffered crush injuries to his head and neck and died at the scene.
WorkSafe's investigation found the company had standard operating procedures and a safe work method statement (SWMS) for the task, including a safety zone during loading and unloading. However, the company did not enforce those procedures or give delivery drivers information about them.
CCTV footage obtained during the investigation showed repeated instances in the days before the incident of people standing near trucks and in forklift operating areas during loading and unloading.
The company could reasonably practicably have controlled the risk by physically separating pedestrians from mobile plant during loading and unloading, and by ensuring delivery drivers were told about the procedures and that those procedures were followed.
WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Narelle Beer said the death could have been prevented if the company had enforced its own policies and procedures. "What this case sadly highlights is that it's not enough just to have written procedures in place – employers must also ensure everyone in the workplace is aware of them and that they are being adhered to."
How Blue Safe can help: Our free SWMS tool can help you set out task-specific hazards and controls for work involving mobile plant. Written controls also need to be communicated to the people involved and put into practice on site. Create a free SWMS