Reason Transport pleads guilty to charges connected to death of HGV driver Petru Pop

Reason Transport has pleaded guilty to charges in connection to the death of HGV driver Petru Pop in November 2016.

The Coventry-based haulier appeared at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on 28 August to face charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Petru Pop died while making a delivery to a residential address in High Wycombe on behalf of Reason Transport, which was a Palletways member at the time.

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

Following an HSE investigation, Reason Transport was charged under section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act which states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”

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An HSE spokeswoman told motortransport.co.uk: “Reason Transport pleaded guilty at the hearing on 28 October. The case has been adjourned for sentencing until 16 October.”

The adjourned case will be heard at High Wycombe Magistrates Court.

Since 2015 an industry working group, in partnership with the HSE, has been attempting to create industry guidance on pallet weights.

However, despite significant industry concern about the lack of weight limits on pallets designated for tail lift deliveries – particularly to domestic addresses - the group has yet to produce guidance on this issue.

An HSE investigation into pallet weights for tail lift vehicles in 2018 resulted in HSE recommending 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The recommendations were passed to the pallet weight working group, which put together draft guidance, which was passed back for approval to HSE early this year. The HSE has yet to approve the guidance.