The New South Wales District Court found Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics (SRL) guilty of an incident in July 2021, which resulted in the death of a man during a vehicle changeover at Clybucca in New South Wales.
On 6 July 2021, a 52-year-old truck driver was struck and killed at a service station used as a changeover point for heavy vehicles travelling between Sydney and Brisbane. When the service station closed in 2016 truck drivers used the adjacent road for coupling and uncoupling and as a changeover spot.
District Court Judge Wendy Strathdee said SRL was aware of this practice and continued to direct workers to conduct changeovers at the site following the closure of the service station.
On the night of the incident, 11 heavy vehicles were parked on the shoulders of the road. The driver, who was not wearing high visibility clothing, walked out into the northbound lane of the road during the changeover process and was struck by a truck being driven at around 75km per hour. The driver died at the scene as a result of the incident.
SRL was convicted of one offence under section 32 of the Act for failing to comply with its health and safety duties and thereby exposing workers to a risk of death or serious injury.
Justice Strathdee found:
- a risk assessment in relation to the task of conducting changeovers and its location had not been completed by SRL;
- the risk of being struck by mobile plant or vehicular traffic on the road was known to SRL as it had been previously raised by workers;
- SRL failed to develop, implement, and enforce a site-specific safe system of work for the task of conducting changeovers at changeover locations in proximity to vehicular traffic;
- SRL did not provide workers with any training on the hazard of working near mobile plant and vehicular traffic when conducting changeovers, or the control measures to be implemented to eliminate or minimise the risk of being struck by mobile plant or vehicular traffic; and
- SRL did not provide workers with adequate high visibility clothing and did not enforce the requirement for workers to wear adequate high visibility clothing at changeover locations.
SafeWork NSW v Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics Pty Ltd [2024] NSWDC 86
For more information and safety advice on managing the risks associated with heavy vehicle changeovers, read the original incident information release
