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Prosecution Details

Defendant Advanced Traffic Management Pty Ltd
Section 19(1)(a) and (b) and 19(6)
Offence Date Monday, 17 February 2003
Description of Breach(es)

Being an employer, failed so far as was practicable to provide and maintain a working environment in which it s employee, was not exposed to a hazard, namely, the risk of being hit by a multi wheeled road roller and in particular failed to:

(a) provide and maintain systems of work such that, so far as was practicable, the employee was not exposed to the hazard; and

(b) provide such information, instructions, training to and supervision of, its employees as was necessary to enable her to perform her work in such a manner that she was not exposed to the hazard;

contrary to sections 19(1)(a) and (b) and 19(6) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

Background Details

The accused was in 2003 a company registered under the name of Advanced Traffic Management Pty Ltd and was in the business of providing traffic management plans and traffic management services to clients. In late January or early February 2003 the accused was engaged by Best Roads Group to provide a traffic management plan and traffic management services for road works to be carried out on Wanneroo Road, Neerabup.

On or about 20 January 2003 an employee of the accused, prepared a traffic management plan for the road work to be performed on Wanneroo Road, Neerabup.

On 17 February 2003 the accused sent three of its employees, a supervisor, and two traffic controllers, to the site of the road works on Wanneroo Road, Neerabup to provide traffic management services for the road works that were to commence that day. The road works involved re-surfacing of Wanneroo Road between Menchetti Road and Hall Road in Neerabup.

On 17 February 2003 the employees of the accused arrived at the workplace and proceeded to use traffic cones and advance traffic warning signs to close off the lane nearest the median reservation on the South bound side of Wanneroo Road where the road works were to take place. They also closed off part of the lane nearest the median reservation on the North bound side of Wanneroo Road so as to prevent traffic from turning into the gap in the median strip that existed in that part of Wanneroo Road in order to allow traffic travelling north to enter a service road adjacent to the South bound side of Wanneroo Road.

At about 8:30 am, just prior to the commencement of work in the gap in the median reservation the two traffic controllers were instructed by the supervisor to control South bound traffic moving past the gap in the median strip using a 'stop/slow' sign so that the vehicles performing the road works in the gap could come out onto the South bound lane that was still open for traffic as necessary, and to ensure traffic did not enter the gap in the median strip from the North bound lanes. The deceased chose to do the control of the South bound traffic. No directions were given to the employees on where to position themselves in order to perform the required tasks.

Upon being instructed to perform the 'stop/go' work, the deceased stood on the roadside edge of the lane nearest the median reservation on the South bound side of Wanneroo Road, just inside the traffic cones blocking that lane off from passing traffic. She stood approximately 20 metres to the North of the gap in the median reservation where the road works were occurring, looking towards the oncoming traffic and with her back to the plant involved in the road works occurring behind her in the gap in the median reservation. In this position she could not see any of the plant working behind her and was positioned between the work area of the road works where several large items of mobile plant were operating and the oncoming vehicular traffic using the South bound side of Wanneroo Road.

At approximately 10 am on 17 February 2003 a person working for the contractor carrying out the road works, was instructed to move a large multi wheel roller to an area some distance to the North of the gap in the median reservation (and to the north of the place where the deceased was standing. The required movement involved reversing the roller. Shortly after the driver commenced reversing the roller, the roller hit the kerb on the median reservation in the middle of Wanneroo road and then lurched away from the median strip towards the traffic lane. Before the driver was able to get the roller under control or to stop the roller, the roller collided with the deceased. As a result she died before she could be taken to hospital.

Neither traffic controller was given any specific instruction by the accused in relation to where to stand to perform the required traffic control tasks. The supervisor observed the positions taken up by the two other employees of the accused and did not seek to change those positions. The traffic plan produced by the accused did not address this issue. The accused's system of work left it to the individual traffic controller to choose where to stand in order to do the 'stop/go' task. The deceased had a basic certificate in traffic control and approximately seven months experience in traffic control.

It would have been practicable for the accused to have in place a system of work (and to have provided adequate instruction, training and supervision to enforce that system of work) whereby the traffic was controlled from a position well away from the mobile plant carrying out the road works, such as the area off the road altogether (on the kerb side of the South bound side of Wanneroo Road), and much further to the North of the gap in the median reservation and/or to have positioned the traffic controller in such a way that she could see the mobile plant in the road works area and had an escape route from the area should any mobile plant come towards her. If the accused had had such a system of work in place and sufficient instruction, training and supervision to enforce that system, the fatality would not have occurred.




Outcome Summary Plead Guilty
Conviction Date 02 Feb 2007
Court Joondalup
Fine $60,000
Charge Number 102518, 102519, 100293/07