Transport company, Malec Holdings, has been fined $320,000 after a driver was run over and killed at a depot in Yarraville in 2020 with the company admitting it failed to implement a safe system of work.
In October 2020, two truck drivers returned from picking up log loads. While cleaning and parking their trucks, one driver was reversed while the other, who was walking nearby tripped and was run over by the truck's rear trailer wheels.
Investigators subsequently found it was reasonably practicable for Malec Holdings to have removed the need for B-doubles to reverse in the workplace, and by implementing a traffic management plan that identified hazards and risks and implemented pedestrian or truck exclusion zones, with clearly marked and barricaded pedestrian walkways and marked vehicle travel routes.
This kind of accident is unfortunately too common, with 15 deaths and 372 serious injuries in vehicle-related incidents this year alone.
Workplaces where vehicles are used need a traffic management plan that ensures pedestrians are kept away from moving machinery and there’s effective communication between operators and ground staff. Signs and barriers should be in place to deal with visibility problems, especially if the lighting is bad.
Workers operating equipment should have the right licenses and the machinery should be regularly checked and maintained by qualified people.
