Reason Transport set to face charges in connection with death of HGV driver

Reason Transport is due to appear at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on 28 August to face charges in connection to the death of HGV driver Petru Pop in November 2016.

The company is facing charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act following an HSE investigation into the death of Pop who died while making a delivery to a residential address in High Wycombe on behalf of Reason Transport.

Pop was crushed to death beneath a 1.1-tonne pallet of tiles which he was attempting to unload from the truck.

Family firm Reason Transport was a Palletways member at the time of the accident.

The Coventry-based haulier left Palletways and joined Palletline in May 2018.

The HSE has confirmed the company is being prosecuted under section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

A spokesman told motortransport.co.uk: “The case is now listed for 28 August at High Wycombe.”

The court case was set to open on 3 April at Reading Magistrates Court but was delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak, which saw courts closed during lockdown, creating a backlog of cases.

Attempts to create industry guidance on pallet weights since 2015 have yet to bear fruit, despite significant industry concern about the lack of weight limits on pallets designated for tail lift deliveries - particularly to domestic addresses.

Following an HSE investigation into pallet weights for tail lift vehicles in 2018, the HSE recommended no limit on pallet weights and a requirement that drivers make a risk assessment of the safety of each tail-lift delivery.

The recommendations were passed to the pallet weight working group, which put together draft guidance, which has yet to be published.