The council was prosecuted after Amy Robinson was killed on her way to school on April 6, 2006, when she was struck by a reversing city council collection vehicle. The incident occurred at the junction of Longfellow Road and Coleridge Road in the Stoke area of Coventry (see letsrecycle.com story).
Prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, Bernard Thoroughgood QC told the court that Coventry city council had failed to carry out proper risk assessments and had left it to individual drivers to decide when to use a colleague to help when reversing.
The court also heard that six months after the incident, police secretly filmed Coventry collection vehicles making difficult reversing manoeuvres without assistance, in an investigation prompted by residents' complaints about lorries reversing at speed.
HSE
Commenting after sentencing, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warned the waste sector to ensure that adequate precautions are taken to prevent injuries caused by reversing waste and recycling collection vehicles.
Investigating HSE inspector Paul Smith, said: “There is a tragic history of pedestrians, particularly children and old people, being run over by refuse collection vehicles. These incidents must act as a stimulus for the industry to review its procedures, making sure that vehicle risks are properly controlled. There are simple and straight forward control measures that have been specifically designed for the waste and recycling industry.
“HSE, working in partnership with the waste and recycling industry has produced a set of clear standards which have been shown to be reasonable and practicable by other local authorities and organizations. By using the collection staff to keep a look out as the vehicle reverses, warning pedestrians and instructing the driver to stop if a pedestrian is likely to enter the reversing zone are some of the simple measures that can be taken,” Mr Smith said.
Coventry
Coventry city council, which had narrowly avoided a similar tragedy in 2005 when one of its reversing collection lorries struck 15-year-old Nicola Cousins but caused only minor injuries, said it had now reviewed its policies and procedures.
Coventry city council chief executive Stella Manzie said: “The most important thing is to offer our continued sympathies and regrets to Amy Robinson's family.
“This was a tragic accident and throughout we have co-operated fully with the West Midlands Police and the Health and Safety Executive, to ensure there were no obstacles to a complete and open investigation.
“Thankfully, accidents of this nature are extremely rare. It goes without saying that we have followed up this terrible event extremely seriously. We have undertaken a review of risk assessments, driving-related policies and procedures and training and have made a number of changes including improvements to equipment, to try and ensure greater safety and reduce the risk of this kind of accident.
“I am confident that the importance of constant vigilance is being reinforced on a day to day basis,” Ms Manzie added.
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