15.07.2005

Check your tie down chains

A transport company based in Brisbane Australia has been fined A$40,000 for the death of a motorist, killed when a crane fell off the back of one of its trucks.

Truck Gleam pleaded guilty this week at the Brisbane Industrial Magistrates Court of breaching the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995. The company `s director Andrew John Print, also pleaded guilty.

The Accident occurred on June sixth, 2001, a crane with a GVW of 23 tonnes, broke its tie down chains, came off of the low loader and crashed through a concrete barrier smashing into a vehicle on the other side of the highway.The woman driver died five days later from her injuries.

An investigation by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland confirmed that the crane had broken free due to inadequate lashing restraint chains. It calculated that the chains had been overloaded by up to 312 percent. It also found the 10mm chains used did not comply with recommendations.

The court heard that Print had fully cooperated with the investigation and had expressed deep remorse over the incident. The company has since changed its load restraint system and improved supervision of its drivers, while documenting its loading and tie down procedures. No conviction against him was recorded.