T&G: Don't back down now
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The T&G is pressing the government to keep its promise and launch corporate killing legislation. Guy Sheppard reports.
THE GOVERNMENT is under renewed pressure to make it easier to prosecute hauliers whose mismanagement leads to fatal accidents. Department for Transport statistics show that although CVs account for 10% of all vehicles in
the UK, they are linked to nearly 25% of road deaths and 14% of serious injuries. Now a draft corporate manslaughter bill launched by the Transport & General Workers Union has been incorporated into an MP's "10-minute rule bill" — a
parliamentary device designed to highlight a particular issue.
The T&G hopes the bill will prompt ministers to confirm a date for the necessary legislation. Tony Woodley, T&G general secretary, says: "Despite a commitment now over six years out standing, the government has so far refused to set a date for a bill that will make corporate killing an offence. With such blatant injustice we have to ask what they are afraid of"
AT&G spokesman says the DIT statistics, published last year, show why a corporate manslaughter bill is particularly necessary in road haulage: "There are going to be any number of reasons that lie behind those statistics but we believe one of the key ones that needs to be addressed is drivers' hours.
"Several surveys and academic reports all point to the danger that tired drivers pose."
Legal research organisation the Centre for Corporate Accountability believes that proposals to reform England's corporate manslaughter laws are imminent (CM 22 January).