SAFE AND SOUND
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• Safety must be at the top of every timber haulier's agenda. In April 2000 an elderly couple were killed on the AT in Scotland when a load of timber fell off a truck. Following this and some other serious accidents, methods of transporting round timber are to be scrutinised. The Roundwood Haulage Working Party, which comprises timber growers, contractors and processors, is working with the Health and Safety Executive, the Department of Transport and timber operator Ferguson Transport. They will select a road research company whose role will be to carry out rigorous tests in a bid to come up with the safest methods of loading and transporting round wood.
Heath and Safety Executive principal inspector Edward Marshall says: The aim is to help timber hauliers, and it is important that the tests have credibility. In the tests it is our aim to ensure that the people who secure the loads are not exposed to risks themselves. The HSE, DoT and the police want to make sure timber does not fall from vehicles."
These tests will take months to complete. "I am there to see that we get the right results," says Marshall. "We will have regular meetings with the contractor (the road research company) to monitor what is being done, and we will witness some of the tests ourselves. The test results will be video recorded and the DoT may produce a training video." A full report will be published by the HSE. Marshall adds. It is not yet clear if cross-loading, in which timber is piled at right angles to the road, will be banned.
In general, Marshall says hauliers must adhere to HSE regulations or things can turn sour. As well as the pain caused by injuries and deaths, he points out, operators should also bear the potential financial costs in mind. "If employees are disabled at work and lose theirjobs a haulier may have to pay £180,000 compensation," says Marshall. That's serious enough, but he warns that a death could mean a claim of Dm.
Even minor injuries mean time off work. "Can a haulier afford for one of his drivers to take six weeks off?" Marshall asks. "Accidents are not cheap."