50-METRE RULE FOR DELIVERY DRIVER SEATBELT USE
Posted Thursday, March 17, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
As from next Tuesday, 1st March 2005, a change to legislation¹ on seatbelt use means it will be compulsory for drivers and passengers in vehicles constructed, or adapted, to carry goods to 'belt up' when making deliveries or collections if they travel further than 50m. Delivery drivers and their passengers must now wear their seatbelts except on very short journeys, this change could, potentially, prevent 20 deaths, 240 serious casualties and 1,000 slight injuries annually.
The change brings to an end the exemption enjoyed by goods vehicle users who don't wear a seatbelt when making local rounds of deliveries or collections. Some van and goods vehicle users wrongly believed they were exempt whatever distance they travelled.
Currently, wearing rates for van drivers are only 30% of drivers and 43% of their passengers, compared with 93% and 94% respectively for car drivers and front passengers.
The Road Safety Minister explained: "Following consultation, we decided that 50m was a reasonable distance to travel without wearing a seatbelt when undertaking deliveries or collections. Those carrying out genuine house-to-house calls will not be affected by the change.
Making the law on this issue clear will help us bring down the number of delivery drivers risking injury by not wearing a seatbelt." -
¹ The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) (Regulations) 2005, Sl 2005/27.
MARCH PUBLICATION OF GLENRIDDING BECK TRAGEDY REPORT
Posted Thursday, March 17, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE is to publish a report on the drowning of a 10-year-old boy, during a school activity weekend in the Lake District in 2002, which it hopes can communicate the lessons learnt and provide practical advice for anyone involved in organising educational visits.
The report will be available on 9th March 2005 at http://www.hse.gov.uk/schooltrips, it has benefited from contribution by Lancashire County Council, particularly concerning the role of Local Education Authorities (LEAs), head teachers and governors, in the effective management of educational visits.
HSE takes the view that conscientious teachers who follow the existing guidance published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) can run safe and rewarding visits.
LEARNING POINTS
The tragedy occurred when a 10-year-old boy was drowned while taking part in an activity called "plunge pooling" in Glenridding Beck in the Lake District, his mother, who jumped in to rescue him, suffered from hypothermia and was airlifted to hospital.
HSE says the main learning points for LEAs, head teachers, governors and leaders are:
leaders of these activities need to be competent, diligent and should always put the safety and best interests of the young people first;
they should always follow the DfES guidance on educational visits;
schools and providers of outdoor education/adventure activities need to have effective management systems in place to ensure that leaders taking young people into hazardous environments are properly selected and supported;
effective arrangements for assessing and ensuring competence and for monitoring leaders should be in place.
NATIONAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN PROMOTES BUSINESS CASE FOR SAFETY
Posted Thursday, March 17, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE has launched a national campaign featuring advertisements in the national media, specialist trade press, commercial radio and direct mail, to persuade businesses that sensible health and safety management is good for their finances.
Workplace accidents and ill health cost the UK economy up to £6.5bn a year, much of this is uninsured costs, impacting directly on bottom-line profitability.
The campaign illustrates by case study what can be achieved in this way:
Rolls-Royce plc realised savings of £11m through an active absence management policy, achieving an absence reduction of around 15% to a rate well below the estimated national average, with a fall in the proportion of absence due to stress from around 20% to 16%;
British Polythene Industries' rehabilitation scheme reduced by over 80% the number of working days lost due to musculoskeletal disorders;
Severn Trent plc reduced their total number of accidents by almost 50% and the proportion of those attributable to musculoskeletal disorders from 75% to around 20%, with a resultant decrease in days lost through absence and an anticipated reduction in civil liability claims.
Other case studies look at the experience of The Associated Octel Company Ltd, Port of London Authority, Legoland Windsor, St Regis Paper Company and Wilson James.
COMMENT
The UK Minister for Work observed: "This is an impressive range of companies who have produced case studies proving that an active approach to health and safety is good for business. In particular the reductions in days lost through ill-health that some have achieved pay off financially and should encourage other businesses to follow their example."
MAJOR INJURIES DOWN SHARPLY IN UK OFFSHORE INDUSTRY
Posted Thursday, March 17, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The latest (1st April 2003 to 31 March 2004) HSE published Offshore health and safety statistics for 2003/04 are dominated by the tragic deaths of 3 persons.
In terms of trend, there were:
48 'major' injury incidents (25% down on 2002/03);
102 'over-3-day¹ incidents reported (120 in 2002/03);
543 dangerous occurrences (635 in 2002/03); and
13 cases of work-related diseases reported (19 in 2003/04).
The figures should be considered in the context of a reduction in the offshore workforce from 20,619 in 2002/03 to 18,793 in 2003/04.
The combined fatal and major injury rate per 100,000 workers decreased to 271.4 from 310.4 in 2002/03.
¹An over-3-day injury is one that is not major but results in the person being away from work or unable to do the full range of their normal duties for more than 3 days.