Two Doncaster men died after driver fell asleep at the wheel when bosses broke health and safety rules
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Renown Consultants Limited was fined £450,000 alongside £300,000 in costs after being convicted under the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to ensure Zac Payne, 20, from Balby, and Michael Morris, 48, from Scawthorpe, were sufficiently rested to work and travel safely.
The sentence was passed virtually by HHJ Godsmark sitting at Nottingham Crown Court after Renown were found guilty following a prosecution by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
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Hide AdBoth men died on 19 June 2013 while traveling in a company van back to Doncaster after a night shift in Stevenage in the early hours of the morning on the A1 near Claypole, and crashed into a parked articulated lorry.
Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Payne and Mr Morris, and I hope this result brings them peace.”
It is the first time that ORR has prosecuted in relation to failures of fatigue management.
The judge found Mr Payne was driving the van at the time of the incident, despite the company’s insurance policy stating only over 25s may drive their vehicles. The company accepted during the trial that under 25s frequently drove its vehicles.
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Hide AdRenown has expressed remorse and made changes to its procedures
The judge said Renown’s gravest failing was to not perform a suitable and sufficient risk assessment on the day before the fatalities, which led to the company failing to comply with its own fatigue management procedures, nor did it comply with working time limits for safety critical work, such as welding and trackside work, which insist there should be a ‘minimum rest period of 12 hours between booking off from a turn of duty to booking on for the next’.
His Honour Judge Godsmark said in his closing remarks: “Operations and managers knew what they were supposed to do in relation to fatigue but lip service was paid to these systems.”