Contractor fined after employee run over by road roller

Ayr Sherriff Court heard that on 3 November 2015 an employee of Newlay Civil Engineering Ltd reversed a road roller over the leg of fellow employee, Thomas Shaw. The incident happened at Knockbreck Road, Straiton in South Ayrshire, when the road was undergoing re-surfacing work.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the vehicle in question was operating without a flashing beacon and the reversing alarm was not working.

Newlay Civil Engineering Ltd pled guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £15,400.

Speaking after the hearing HSE principal inspector, Graeme McMinn said:

“This case highlights the importance of regular pro-active maintenance and pre-use inspection of work equipment, including flashing beacons and reversing alarms.

“In this case, Newlay Civil Engineering Ltd failed to effectively maintain their road roller and it could easily have resulted in a fatality.”