Risk Management

Motor Fleet Risk Management

Fleets containing heavy goods vehicles, light vans or cars may be used by the company. Norwich Union have set up a separate website for this area of risk assessment called Roadsense. It can be found at www.norwichunion.com/roadsense.

Text Message Distraction Driver Jailed - August 2006

A driver of a 7.5 tonne lorry who caused a woman's death because he was distracted by his mobile phone was jailed for 4 years.

The lorry driver had been punching the keypad of his new phone and failed to spot a traffic queue ahead. His lorry crashed into a Peugeot 106 driven by Trinity Taylor, 23. The lorry rolled over the top of the car, crushing it, and killing Ms Taylor.

The court heard that in the minutes before the collision, the driver of the lorry had told one of his close friends that he wanted to find out how to use the new mobile phone. He missed warning signs of an approaching queue and did not notice the stationary cars which were visible more than half a mile away.

Six other vehicles were severely damaged in the accident.

When experts examined the lorry's tachograph they found that the vehicle had only slowed from 61mph to 47mph in the last few yards before the impact. The driver of the lorry admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was banned from driving for 7 years and ordered to take an extended driving test.

Chronic Fatigue - Driving Long Working Hours - April 2006

A fine of £30,000 plus £24,000 costs was imposed by a Court on a produce dispatch company, after one its employees, Mark Fiebig, 21, of Soham, died in a car crash after working 76 hours in 4 days.

The case is the first prosecution of its kind in the UK as the defendant, the produce dispatch company, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety legislation even though the deceased person had died outside working hours - he was driving home from work at the time.

The prosecutor said Mr Fiebig had worked 11 days without a day off prior to his fatal crash. During that time he had worked on average 17 hours per day with 3 to 4 hours' sleep per night. Bates said other staff were working similarly long hours.

He added "Workers were paid by the hour. For payroll purposes, a daily note was kept of each worker's working hours. The farm manager had to be aware, and so did other management."

The Judge at the Crown Court, said the company had failed to properly monitor the hours in which its employees worked.

The court heard that the driver of the lorry was suffering from chronic fatigue and had fallen asleep at the wheel.

The company admitted failing to ensure the health of workers and the public. Along with the £30,000, they were also ordered to pay £24,000 costs.

May 2007