Road traffic collision update

Transcription

1 April June 2018 (Q1) This paper presents data from RSSB s Safety Management Intelligence System (SMIS) relating to road traffic accidents involving rail staff during the first quarter of 2018/19 (Q1). Appendix A provides the narratives of the incidents involved. Safety performance Chart 1, below, presents the overall level of harm arising from road traffic accidents. Most of the 0.3 fatalities and weighted injuries recorded in Q1 2018/19 are minor. Disregarding the Q1 figures for 2013/14 and 2014/15, in which fatalities were recorded, Chart 2 shows Q1 2018/19 to have experienced a higher rate of harm when measured against the Q1 figures back to 2008/09. This of course does not mean that rail-related road driving is getting more dangerous, rather that levels of reporting are higher now than they were a decade ago. Chart 1. Trend in harm

2 Chart 2. Trend in harm Quarter 1 of every year since 2008/09 Chart 3. Number of injuries by cause

3 Chart 4. Number of injuries by injury degree, quarter /19 Chart 5. Number of injuries by sector, quarter /19 Chart 3 reiterates that most recorded road driving incidents are caused by third-party action. The narratives included in Appendix A suggest rear-end collisions to be the most common occurrence. The incidents recorded (along with Charts 4 and 5) also suggest the risk to be borne almost exclusively by Network Rail and the contractor community. Given the risks surrounding replacement bus services and taxis along with staff taxi use it is likely that some incidents in this area have not been input to SMIS, thereby skewing the dataset. Furthermore, the high percentage of incidents allotted to third-party activity has been questioned at some SSRG subgroup meetings. Again, this reflects the information that has been put into SMIS. If the picture SMIS paints is fuzzy, rail companies will need to ensure they are inputting more and more accurate information into it to allow us to give greater clarity via the analysis. Summary of messages gleaned from the Q1 data: The FWI figure for Q1 2018/19 is the highest for a decade (excepting those quarters in which fatalities have occurred). However, while this suggests an upturn in reporting, underreporting into SMIS (particularly from the FOC sector) is still evident.

4 Third-party activity is still the biggest recorded cause of incidents, but may require more detail being input to SMIS to allow underlying causes to be fully mined. Appendix A (narratives) June June: Taxi accident injures train driver at Warrington TOC (unknown), minor injury At 16:00, a train driver reported that she was travelling in a taxi from Liverpool to Warrington for work purposes when the vehicle was involved in an accident in Warrington. The driver travelled back to Liverpool, where she attended an NHS clinic, having sustained an injury to her shoulder. 25 June: Third-party car strike rear of staff van waiting at Upper Affcot NR (third party), 2 minor injuries At 14:48, a member of staff was stationary on the A49 at the junction of Upper Affcot and Alcaston when a car drove into the back of their van at between 35 and 40 mph. The staff vehicle sustained some damage to the rear bumper, and both the driver and passenger suffered severe whiplash. Both had been wearing their seat-belts. 14 June: Van slips going uphill at Ecclefechan NR (road conditions), minor injury At 12:30, a member of staff reported that, while driving uphill in a works van at Yeskit Farmer Road, Ecclefechan, the van slipped went into a ditch. The driver was uninjured, but their passenger suffered neck injuries. 13 June: Van strikes staff vehicle waiting at roundabout near Stirling TOC (third party), 2 minor injuries On 13 June, a staff vehicle was struck in rear by a van while waiting at Kier Roundabout, between Stirling and Dunblane. The speed of the impact pushed the staff vehicle into the roundabout traffic. The police were informed. The staff driver experienced pain in his neck and left arm; his colleague suffered back pain. 13 June: Third-party opens passenger door, struck by staff vehicle in Croydon NR (third party), minor injury At 11:00, a member of staff was involved in a road traffic collision whilst driving on Zion Road, Croydon. As he passed a car, a member of the public opened a passenger door. Though taking evasive action, the door was struck by the staff vehicle s wing mirror. The occupants of both vehicles were shaken. The staff driver suffered minor cuts to his forearm, but there were no additional injuries. A note to all drivers was to be included in the next Safety Cascade, reminding them to take extra care driving in areas where there are parked vehicles. 5 June: Staff van breaks abruptly for errant cyclist at London Bridge NR (third party), minor injury At around 09:30, a staff vehicle was driving down the ramp at Dolben Street Depot, London Bridge, at approximately 5mph when a cyclist came towards it. The cyclist was not paying attention and cycled

5 directly into the path of the vehicle. This caused the driver to slam on the brakes. All three occupants were wearing their seat belts, but the person sitting in the back was not aware of what was happening and was jerked violently forward without warning. This caused some injury to his neck, elbow and shoulder 4 June: Rear-end collision while staff wait to leave M18 at Doncaster NR (third party), minor injury At 06:00, two members of staff were stationary whilst exiting the M18 at Junction 3 (Doncaster) when a third-party vehicle struck the rear of theirs. Both members of staff felt a little neck cramping. 3 June: Collision at Kirton Lane NR (third party), minor injury At 04:15, a member of staff was injured when a third-party vehicle collided with their own at Kirton Lane. They later advised that they had attended Doncaster Royal Infirmary and were found to be suffering from ligament and tissue damage to their lower back and neck. Back to top May May: Sickness leads van to stop on A14, clipped by lorry, one contractor knocked down contractor (unconfirmed), minor injury At 08:00, two contractors were driving home after a night shift when one of them was sick in the van. They pulled over to clean up the mess on the hard shoulder of the A14. Both members of staff had got out of the van - one still being sick, the other clearing up the mess - when the van was clipped by a lorry, which knocked one of the contractors over. The lorry stopped in a lay-by and its driver came back to check that the contractors were ok; another car then stopped and its driver called an ambulance. The contractor who had been knocked over suffered no broken bones but had a constant headache. He went to hospital on the advice of the paramedic. 22 May: Staff vehicle collides car that ran out of fuel on M4 near Bridgend NR (possible braking distance), major injury At 14:30, whilst driving on the outside lane of the M4 near Bridgend, a member of staff s van collided with a stationary vehicle which had stopped in the outside lane after running out of fuel. 17 May: Lorry carrying mobile home strikes staff van in Dudley Port NR (third party), minor injury At 08:30, a member of staff was stationary at a crossroads in order to turn right towards Dudley Port station, when a lorry carrying a mobile home came down the left-hand side of the vehicle. The corner of the mobile home caught the corner of the staff van, causing the driver to sustain a bruised knee and twisted neck. They attended Sandwell Hospital for observation and treatment. They were off work for seven days. 15 May: Staff member on cycle in collision with lorry on Tottenham Court Road NR (unconfirmed), major injury On 15 May, a member of staff was riding a bicycle to a briefing at London s Congress Centre. She had an altercation with a lorry on Tottenham Court Road, which resulted in a broken leg and skin damage.

6 She was was taken to hospital for an operation. It was hoped that her leg would heal without the need of a cast. 9 May: Car reversed into traffic on A1, staff vehicle deals it glancing blow contractor (third party), minor injury At 23:00, a gang of contractors were driving along the A1, when a car on the opposite side of the road reversed out, causing the van to take evasive action, but causing it to strike the side of the vehicle. Two members of the team went to hospital complaining of a bad back; the other two were shaken. The car driver admitted culpability. 8 May: Lorry makes emergency stop near Ashford, staff vehicle unable to stop in time contractor/nr (braking), 2 minor injuries At 10:10, it was reported that a member of staff and a contractor had been involved in a road traffic accident on the A2070 at Ashford. The car, which was being driven by the contractor, was unable to stop in time when the lorry in front carried out an emergency stop. Both staff members attended hospital with suspected whiplash injuries. 1 May: Contractor car swerves to avoid deer contractor (animal incursion), minor injury At 03:05, a contractor was leaving site in his car and driving down a country lane in the Swindon area when he was forced to swerve to avoid two deer. The car clipped the kerb. In trying to correct himself, he rolled his vehicle. The contractor was shaken up and suffered pain in both sides of his chest. He was later taken to hospital with suspected cracked/broken ribs. Back to top

7 April April: Third-party vehicle stops on A1, staff member takes evasive action but collides with car NR (third party), shock/trauma A telecoms engineer was travelling south on the A1 at Great Ponton, when a car stopped in the fast lane for no apparent reason. The first car ahead hit it, went round it and came to a stand. The staff vehicle managed to swerve around both cars, but was unable to stop before colliding with a third one. There were no reported physical injuries, but the engineer did suffer shock. No lost time was incurred. The engineer had already attended a defensive / advance driving training day with Network Rail and had also undertaken similar training with a previous employer. His manager spoke to him directly after the accident and again on the following Monday morning. He was clearly shaken by the event, which had affected his confidence for driving. In retrospect, a bigger gap could have been left to increase braking distance and reaction time, but the sudden stop of the cars ahead was unexpected and caught out following drivers. The staff vehicle was not fitted with automatic radar / braking systems; this may have applied the brakes earlier if fitted. 9 April: Taxi strikes curb en route to Soho Depot TOC (taxi), shock/trauma On 9 April, a taxi conveying a train driver to Soho Depot hit the curb en route. The train driver suffered shock after being thrown in the back of the vehicle. Said driver was relieved at New Street. 6 April: Rear-end collision while exiting M60 NR (unspecified), minor injury At 11:30, a member of staff was involved in a rear-end collision while exiting the M60 at Junction 23. The driver suffered suspected whiplash. 4 April: Staff vehicle strikes contractor vehicle while overtaking NR/contractor (road conditions), major injury At around 04:00, a staff vehicle spun out of control and collided with a van it was overtaking on the M80 between Junctions 7 and 8. Both vehicles went off the road and down an embankment, where they came to rest with the van on its side and the staff vehicle on its roof. A lorry driver stopped and called the emergency services. The staff members were unharmed and were happy to return home. The driver of the van, who was also a contractor, had a cut to the head and was taken by ambulance to hospital. He was later reported to have suffered four broken ribs in addition. 3 April: Rear-end collision in Waterloo NR (third party), minor injury At 06:10, an Operations Delivery Manager (ODM) was involved in a multiple vehicle road traffic accident. On being relieved at 05:50 at Clapham Junction, the ODM used the staff vehicle to get home. Reaching York Road, Waterloo, the ODM joined a queue of traffic standing at a set of traffic lights and was shunted from behind by a van. The force of the impact pushed the staff vehicle into a taxi, which struck the vehicle ahead of it in turn. The staff vehicle sustained a foot-long indentation to the rear bumper; the rear doors were also pushed slightly in. The road conditions were wet and, though it was dawn and slightly dark, the road was well lit and there were no visibility issues. The ODM showed signs of discomfort, with pains in their back, side, hands and the back of their head.

8 The driver of the van explained that he had been looking elsewhere when he crashed into the staff vehicle. Having been waiting for an ambulance for some time, and with no estimate of arrival, the ODM was taken to hospital, where he was given a thorough examination and administered with pain killers. He was discharged at 10:45 and advised to rest for 7 to 10 days. Back to top