Keep road safety front of mind long after Road Safety Week, say organisers
With road crashes predicted to climb this year, organisers at Brake are urging the public to keep road safety at the forefront of their minds beyond 20 November.
Every year, thousands of schools, organisations and communities come together to support the campaign by sharing important road safety messages, remembering people affected by road death and injury, and raising funds for the National Road Victim Service.
“Every 22 minutes someone dies or is seriously injured on UK roads,” says Brake CEO Mary Williams OBE.
“Emergency services do a fantastic job of responding to road crashes and raising awareness of their horror, but they shouldn’t have to – road deaths and serious injuries are appalling tragedies that need to stop. We are urging authorities and the public to prioritise road safety to save lives.
“Road safety cannot be something that we talk about just one week a year. We all need to remain vigilant, and play our part in ensuring safe and healthy mobility for all.”
Read more on the SHP website.
Road users urged to follow the changed Highway Code, says charity at start of national Road Safety Week
National Road Safety Week launches today with the theme Safe Roads for All, emphasising the importance of everyone following changes to the Highway Code to protect people more at risk, such as those on foot and bicycle.
The changes to The Highway Code aim to help improve road safety for people walking, cycling and also horse riding and have been publicised by the Government during Spring and Summer 2022. The Code sets out a hierarchy of road users, with those who can cause the most harm having the greatest responsibility to protect others on the road.
Millions are taking part in Road Safety Week 2022 (14–20 November), as thousands of schools, communities, organisations, and emergency services launch local activities; raising awareness and spreading messages to improve road safety across the nation. Brake has provided information and teaching resources for people to get involved at www.brake.org.uk/road-safety-week.
Road Safety Week is coordinated by Brake, the road safety charity, and in support of the Department for Transport’s THINK! Campaign. Brake also runs the National Road Victim Service, providing bereaved and seriously injured families with dedicated caseworkers, delivering emotional support, practical care and access to many other services road victims need.
Learn more about Road Safety Week on the Brake website.
Ventilation testing company fined for putting hundreds at risk
A company that tests ventilation systems has been fined for putting hundreds of workers at risk of serious lung diseases.
Airtec Filtration Ltd was used by businesses across the UK to test extract ventilation systems, which reduce exposures to airborne contaminants in a workplace.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the firm, which is based in St Helens, Merseyside provided its customers with inaccurate test results, potentially leaving staff in those businesses unaware of the risks they faced.
In one incident, when assessing a car manufacturing business, the Airtec engineer failed to identify the presence of rubber fumes, which are carcinogenic and can lead to cancer.
In another, a baking company used flour and other respiratory allergens, which the engineer identified inadequately as food dusts. The Airtec engineer failed to provide any other information to highlight the presence of asthmagens, which can lead to occupational asthma.
Between 2018 and 2019 Airtec Filtration Ltd were providing Through Examination and Tests (TExT) of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems, which are designed to control substances dangerous to health.
The company claimed their work met the requirements of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002.
However, the testing the testing reports provided to businesses were insufficient as hazardous substances were not adequately identified, and the local exhaust ventilation tests were not carried out correctly.
For more on the incidents, visit the SHP website.
Fatal skylight fall – company and director sentenced
A Wakefield roofing company has been fined and its sole director given a suspended prison sentence after a dad-of-two was killed when he fell 12 metres through a skylight.
Jonathan May, 39, from Horbury, Wakefield, who was a subcontractor for Davis Industrial Roofing Limited, was working on a storm-damaged warehouse roof at F&G Commercials Limited, Carlton Industrial Estate in Barnsley with two others on 18 December 2016, when he fell.
The work involved the replacement of more than 300 skylights on a fragile asbestos cement roof. The skylights had been damaged in a hailstorm.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found Davis Industrial Roofing Limited had failed to provide an appropriate risk assessment, method statement, and suitable and sufficient fall protection measures for the roof work to be carried out safely.
The investigation found even though reasonably practicable precautions were available, poor planning had resulted in a risk assessment and method statement that was not suitable and sufficient. The work was poorly supervised and carried out unsafely.
Read more about the case on the HSE website.
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