The Automotive Blog

The death of a lorry driver, set alight when a truck overloaded with molten steel slag tipped over, was a “disaster waiting to happen”, a judge has said.

Carl Parsons’ employer, Short Brothers Plant Ltd, admitted breaking health and safety laws and was fined £100,000. Mr Parsons was engulfed in flames when the truck tipped over and the 800C slag ignited diesel spilling from the tank.  The 55-year-old father-of-two from Pontprennau, Cardiff, died two days after the accident in April 2002.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Short Brothers had not done proper health and safety checks on its vehicles at its site at the former Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) works on Rover Way, where Mr Parsons was working. The truck had been modified to carry the scorching hot slag. But the extra weight affected the brakes, which were not tested regularly, the court heard.

Sentencing, Judge Gerald Price QC said the accident could have been avoided as Mr Parson’s death happened “following the defendant’s failure to ensure his safety”.

Prosecutor Bryan Thomas described how part of the truck’s rigging was badly maintained and had seized. He said the brakes were capable of working, but to a reduced effect and the chain on the petrol cap had been broken and not replaced.

“The brakes failed as he drove up a slope to release the waste metal. But the truck rolled back and tipped over igniting the truck’s diesel fuel which had escaped through the leaking cap. .

HSE principal inspector Steve Scott said: “This is a most tragic case, and must serve as a warning to all companies engaged in potentially hazardous activities of the need for thorough and robust health and safety measures to protect their employees.”

Faulty brakes are a common cause of accidents not just in the UK.  Regular brake testing can help prevent such incidents as;

Sierra Leone
HGV accident in Freetown
At least 4 people died and many others were injured following a lorry collision early on Thursday in east Freetown. Mechanical failure saw an advancing lorry fail to brake, and then collide with a stationary lorry, laden with coal and timber, awaiting fuel. Neither lorry was displaying lights and most of the dead and injured were travelling on the back of one of the lorries. 10th October 2008

Luxembourg
HGV customs checks find shortcomings

In the last week HGV technical inspections at the Mertert customs check point in eastern Luxembourg have revealed 21 vehicles with 34 mechanical failings, primarily brakes, steering and suspension. The deficiencies of 3 German lorries saw them immediately banned and towed back to Germany. One lorry with 54 tonnes was 37% over its legal capacity, another notable finding was the number of drivers failing to adhere to mandatory rest periods. 29th October 2008.

USA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported

That in 2004, 416,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes in the U.S., that a total of 5,190 people died (12% of all the traffic fatalities reported in 2004) and an additional 116,000 were injured in those crashes. One out of eight traffic fatalities in 2004 resulted from a collision involving a large truck. In a widely cited study it was reported that brake defects were common and were found in 56% of the tractor-trailers involved in crashes. In the more recent Large Truck Crash Causation Study sponsored by DOT, it was concluded that 29.4% of all large truck crashes involved brake failure, brakes out of adjustment, or other brake related issues.

An out-of-control lorry which smashed into an office and killed two women could have caused a “massacre”, a coroner said. Two women died when the 35-tonne truck crashed through the front of an estate agent’s office in High Wycombe on 14 June 2002. Buckinghamshire coroner Richard Hulett said it had been a lottery which of the many people out in the town centre would be hit when the lorry’s brakes failed at the top of a hill. The driver and his employers DE Transport have been summoned before Wycombe magistrates for failing to maintain the brakes and exceeding the weight limit on a vehicle.

The driver’s statement included that he told police the vehicle had had brake problems four to six weeks previously, but these had been fixed by a garage.

Sales Director Matthew Burke states “With BrakeCheck ( a modern day decelerometer) you have a hard copy print out that is time and date stamped to prove brakes are checked and are to the required braking efficiency, reviewing the above article its always easy to speak with hindsight but this is a warning for today’s vehicle operators to do their up most to check and report on BRAKES”.

Brake efficiency and balance is usually checked on a roller brake tester. In certain cases where a roller brake tester may not be used (for example on certain 4-wheel drive vehicles) it may be necessary to check brake efficiency and balance on a road test, with a portable decelerometer.

What Is It?

The Tapley Brake Test Meter is a scientific instrument, indisputable in its accuracy as it is based on one of the basic laws of applied physics. It consists of a finely balanced pendulum free to respond to any changes in speed or angle, working through a quadrant gear train to rotate a needle round a dial. To damp out all vibration, the instrument is filled with a special fluid not sensitive to changes in temperature. No maintenance is necessary. The same meter can be used to test all types of vehicles, from heavy trucks and buses to vans and passenger cars. It needs no electrical connections and it’s so portable that you can take the Tapley Meter to the vehicle instead of the other way around.

How Does It Work?

To set the instrument for a brake test, start by loosening the two butterfly nuts at the sides of the swivel-mounting bracket. Tilt the head until the main needle (with arrow) is set at 3.5 if the unit is in meters or 13.4 if in feet with the face of the instrument JUST BACK FROM THE VERTICAL. This is important because it can be set with the face nearly horizontal, but it would then be near the end stop and would not move anticlockwise. When set in this manner the butterfly nuts can be tightened again, and the instrument is ready to start the test as pictured to the left.

With the main needle set, the recording needle (without arrow) should be turned clockwise by means of the chrome knob in the middle of the dial until it is against the left hand side of the main needle. The vehicle is then driven along a level road at about 20 miles per hour or 30 kph, and the brakes fully applied by means of the foot brake pedal only. When the vehicle has stopped the brake efficiency reading can be taken from the figure shown by the recording needle on the inner brake scale. Stopping distance readings are taken from the outer scale figures. A similar reading should now be taken from a lower speed using the handbrake only.

Tapley Testers have now been replaced with mordern electronic testers such as BrakeCheck from aide automotive ltd