In July 2013, a lorry driver from a logistics company killed two charity cyclists in Cornwall.
The professional driver was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail in September 2014. In March of this year, the families of the two victims asked that an inquest be carried out in order to more fully investigate the transport firm’s direct involvement in the deaths of the two cyclists.
During the trial of the haulage driver, Robert Palmer, flaws in the health and safety system of his company, Frys Logistics, emerged. Investigations revealed that Palmer was capable of working in the capacity of a mechanic during the day, performing vehicle maintenance at the yard, and putting in a shift as a driver later that same night. He even doctored his tachograph so as to conceal his lack of rest. European legislation on driving hours would clearly have prohibited Palmer from driving night shifts if he was also working (rather than resting) on the same day.
The request for a further investigation into the tragedy by the families of Andrew McMenigall, 47, and Toby Wallace, 36, killed in the incident, suggested that the company could be charged with corporate manslaughter as it seems likely there were clear breaches in the logistic company’s duty of care.
Commercial Fleet online published a declaration by the Devon and Cornwall Police which explained that "following a review of the case, we [the authorities, editor’s note] can confirm there will be no further action". The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) clarified that "it was a police decision to take no further action".
The decision puzzled and perplexed road safety authorities, legal experts, and the families of the two victims. The company would have owed a duty of care under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA), which aims to guarantee that an employer conducts any undertaking, reasonably, in a manner that does not unduly endanger other people.
A work-related road safety expert, Edward Handley, expressed his incomprehension at the decision, especially because there is already an important precedent with which to refer: a case where both a driver and their transport manager were jailed after the driver killed a motorist in a car crash while working an illegal shift.
