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Log firm finediln

8th November 2001
Page 8
Page 8, 8th November 2001 — Log firm finediln
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• by Bert Houston and David Craik Selkirk-based timber haulier Elliot Henderson has been fined 110,000 after a court heard that one of the firm's lorries shed its load of timber onto a car, killing an elderly couple, The accident on the A7 south of Langholm in SouthWest Scotland in April last year led to calls for a re-evaluation of safety regulations of crossloading, a practice in which logs are piled at right angles to the road on flatbeds.

The Sheriff at Dumfries heard that the logs on the firm's vehicle had swept over the car in a wave" and had hit two other cars, injuring three additional people.

Elliot Henderson pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the system used for strapping cross-loaded roundwood logs onto flatbed trailers complied with the minimum standards set out in the Code of Practice documentation issued by the Roundwood Haulage Working Party (RHWP).

The firm also admitted failing to provide employees with the necessary instruction, training and supervision to ensure a safe system for securing logs.

Pamela Rhodes, prosecuting, said there was no suggestion of bad driving; the straps were simply insufficient to hold the load.

Paul Gray, defending, said that in an industry fraught with potential dangers, the firm had never been involved in any previous accidents and Henderson was respected for his responsible attitude to safety.

Existing guidelines drawn up by the RHWP have come under intense criticism since the couple were killed.

This week the Transport Research Laboratory is starting a three-month programme of tests to establish whether cross-loading standards need to be revised.

The tests are expected to cost more than 150,000; the results are expected next March.


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