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March/April 2023 issue

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Transport and logistics
News

Govia Thameslink pays £1m over passenger’s ‘droplight’ window death

Open-access content Thursday 18th July 2019
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

Simon Brown, 24, sustained fatal injuries when his head struck a signal gantry near Balham in south London on 7 August 2016. The Gatwick Express to London Victoria was travelling at about 61 mph.
GTR, which operates the service, pleaded guilty to breaching s 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was sentenced last month at Southwark Crown Court.
The "droplight" window was in a corridor on a door opposite a guard's compartment. This door was accessible to passengers but was not intended for their use. Unlike other windows on the train, this one was not restricted from opening fully.
An investigation report (bit.ly/2LSINIx) by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said there was a warning sticker on the door above the window stating: "Emergency ventilation. Do not lean out of window when train is moving." However, this was "secondary" to the wording about emergency ventilation and was placed in a "cluttered environment of other warning and information signs".
The report said: "One of these signs, which is more prominent than the warning sticker, provides instructions on opening the door (including lowering the window to access the exterior door handle), despite the fact that this door is not intended for passenger use. Although there is a notice on the outside of the carriage that this door is 'not for passenger use', there is no such notice on the inside."
The RAIB found no evidence to explain why Brown put his head out of the window. It concluded that there was nothing to prevent passengers opening the window or leaning out, and that the 260 mm distance between the train and gantry was "less than normal standard clearance".
The report said: "The process for assessing the compatibility of this train on this route did not identify the risk of the combination of reduced structure clearances and opening windows."
After the incident GTR fitted bars across the windows in such a way that it was still possible to lower the window, and therefore open the door when necessary, but it was not possible for passengers to position their heads outside the carriage.
The UK's rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which brought the prosecution, told the court that the risks associated with droplight windows should have been identified by a suitable risk assessment, and control measures introduced. However, GTR failed to take the appropriate action, it said.
It also revealed that there had been a similar incident in 2002, which resulted in enforcement action against train operator South Central.
Ian Prosser, ORR director of safety and the chief inspector of railways, said: "There are still some trains with droplight windows operating on the network and we have written to operators instructing them to take immediate action to prevent a similar tragedy happening again."

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Liverpool Magistrates' Court. Photo © Stephen Richards (cc-by-sa/2.0)

 Agency HGV driver’s fractures land NI shipping firm £30k fine

Monday 15th July 2019
A shipping firm must pay nearly £40,000 after a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver sustained several lower limb fractures after being struck by a paper reel which was being loaded on to his trailer.
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 Specialty minerals firm fined £200k after worker fatally struck by forklift

Tuesday 23rd July 2019
A company that manufactures calcium carbonate for the global paper and packing industry has been fined £200,000 for failing to segregate pedestrians and vehicles at its Birmingham premises after a worker was struck by a forklift truck, leaving her with fatal injuries.
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 NZ port operating co fined £263k over worker’s fatal 2.9 m fall

Monday 24th June 2019
A port operating firm has been fined NZ$506,048 (£263,145) at Wellington District Court after the death of a worker at the company’s container assessment and repair facility in January 2017.
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 Events co fined £161k over unsafe lifting operation injury

Monday 12th August 2019
A Coventry-based company that manufacturers stands for exhibitions has been fined £161,000 after an employee was knocked unconscious and sustained a broken collar bone during the unsafe lift and move of a park home chassis.
Open-access content
Image credit: © N Chadwick (cc-by-sa/2.0)

 £82,000 fine for freight co after worker crushed by 700 kg container

Tuesday 16th July 2019
A freight transport company has been fined after a container weighing nearly 700 kg fell on a worker at a warehouse close to London Heathrow airport.
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 Property firm fined £1.3m after pedestrian fatally hit by tank cover during storm

Friday 12th July 2019
A property management firm has been fined £1.3m after a woman was fatally struck by a large wooden panel that blew off a redundant water tank during a storm in 2017. 
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