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HA seeks input on storm damage
Page 14
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THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY has asked the industry trade associations to help compile a report into the effects of the recent storms in an attempt to minimise chaos sparked by high winds in future.
About 35 LGVs were blown over and three drivers died as gusts of winds reached speeds of 99mph in parts of Britain.
The investigation coincides with a warning from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)that time pressure on operators is compromising safety. "There are many more just-in-time pressures in the economic cycle than there were even a few years ago," says Roger Bibbings, RoSPA occupational safety adviser. "People are under pressure to deliver. From a business point of view it's a false economy."
Malcolm Bingham, Freight Transport Association head of road network management policy, says: "We have a commitment with the Highways Agency to work with them. We have a couple of time frames which are quite short; there is a pressure on us.
We will gather evidence and are going out to operators asking what happened [during the storms] and what effect it had."
• See Investigation, page 32