Oxfordshire haulier Reason Transport UK has been fined £5,000 after one of its drivers was crushed to death beneath a pallet of tiles he was trying to unload.
Petru Pop died in November 2016 while making the delivery to a residential address in High Wycombe.
The haulier, which was a Palletways member at the time, pleaded guilty to charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act last month.
In a statement from the haulier, it said: “The fine announced relates to Oxfordshire-based Reason Transport UK Ltd, which ceased trading in 2017 due to issues with the viability and scale of the delivery areas within the Palletways network.
“This tragic accident was due to the industry wide issue of inaccurate labelling of pallet weights, leading to the handling of an overweight pallet.
“Our thoughts are with the driver’s family and we fully support industry wide efforts to ensure that pallet weights are limited and accurately reported throughout the delivery process to protect all drivers in the UK.”
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 any guidance.
