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144 
MEMBER FOR HAULAGE
Page 20
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I see that CMmentioned my appointment to the Transport Select Committee in your last issue. In the article you su: :est that the new members have some transport experience but no specific haulage expertise.
I would like to point out that I am one of only two Members of Parliament that have a Road Haulage Manager's Certificate of Professional Competence. Incidentally, the other one is Tory Chief Whip, David MacLean.
Robert Syms, MP for Poole, have been expressed that the relationship should not be too close. The separation of the Traffic Examiners and then the Bus Compliance Officer from the Traffic Area Offices appeared to be sensible steps which recognised some of those concerns.
When those comments have been voiced in the past, the independence of the Traffic Area Offices has been stoutly defended. For Mr Newey to now state "they [TAN and VI staffi already work very closely together when preparing cases to set before TCs" not only contradicts the previous assertions of independence but also proves that those fears were well-founded, I write in connection with your article on workshop safety in CM15-21August.
My husband was killed at work in November 2001, although not in a workshop situation. He was working for a Dorset-based haulier and on the day in question was assisting the owner of the company to lift a 40ft, 3.5-tonne steel container from the ground onto the back of an articulated lorry, using a crane mounted on the back of another lorry.
One of the 'strops' holding the container snapped and the container fell, crushing my husband to death.
The owner of the company had not had training in safe lifting procedures and had given no training to any employees, including my husband, I believe that since my husband's death, training has now been undertaken.
At the time of writing I still do not know if the Health and Safety Executive will prosecute the owner of the company involved.
According to figures released by the Centre for Corporate Accountability, in the period from November 2001January 2002, 31lives were lost at work. All employers must be made aware of the desperate need to train all members of staff in safety issues, to stop this carnage continuing.
As you can imagine, this preventable accident has left me and my family totally devastated. On 25 July my friend and I were travelling west on the M62 when an unsecured piece of sheet metal flew off a scrap wagon. It bounced off one of two container trucks travelling in the inside lane then landed in my path. I hit it head on—there was nothing I could do. The metal wrapped itself around the car and its sharp edges attached themselves to the undercarriage. I was driving at 70mph in the middle lane and stru led to prevent the car from veering across the motorway. For a few seconds I was convinced that we were going to have a serious accident and probably die.
The two container drivers pulled onto the hard shoulder, helped slow down the traffic, then expertly guided my vehicle to safety. This was a further scary moment in which I expected a mass pile-up to occur. I strongly suspect that without their intervention, this could have easily happened.
They then jacked up my car and released the sheet metal from underneath. I felt weak with shock and had difficulty in thinking straight, but they dealt with the whole incident in a competent and sensitive way.
They then tracked down the scrap wagon, contacted the police and offered their names as witnesses to the incident. This meant that my insurance claim was extremely straightforward.
I know that one of the drivers is Anthony Holgate and that they both work for H&S Food Trans, Holland. I want to thank Anthony and his colleague for probably saving our lives. They were also responsible for ensuring that no other drivers were put at risk from the flying sheet metal. I later learned that this wagon did not have the regulation mesh cover and was a travelling death trap.
There are no words that can adequately express my feelings or thanks to Anthony and his friend. They were just amazing. An can say is, I hope they might read this letter and know exactly what their very heroic actions meant to us.
If you are reading this, Anthony and your friend, we will never forget what you did for us on that day. Many thanks... Elizabeth Perm
Bolton.