Self Escorting Abnormal Loads and Abnormal Vehicles - RoSPA

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Response to the Highways Agency Consultation Paper “Proposed Code of Practice Self-Escorting of Abnormal Loads and Abnormal Vehicles” April 2004 4 Escort Person Specification RoSPA Response The Code of Practice defines two levels of ‘escort person’ : • level 1 who have no powers to stop or direct traffic • level 2 who will have an accreditation from a Police Constable to undertake the traffic direction of other road users. Comprehensive Job Descriptions for both posts are provided but RoSPA is concerned that the route to achieve accreditation has not yet been fully defined. Also, since this is a voluntary code of practice there are no enforcement measures in place to ensure that recruits meet these criteria. The Code states that it is the responsibility of hauliers or sub-contractors to satisfy themselves that their own escort personnel are sufficiently competent to carry out their duties. No doubt, in the event of an incident, the Police and/or HSE would investigate whether escort personnel were competent. However, The Code should include some mechanism for external checks without the need to wait for an incident to occur. 5 Operation RoSPA Response RoSPA welcomes the requirement that the police abnormal load officer and the haulier agree the numbers of escort vehicles and personnel on a case-by-case basis. Escort persons are required to risk assess traffic and weather conditions, but this is not included in the Job Descriptions included in the previous sections. RoSPA would prefer to see this included in the job responsibilities to emphasise the importance of this item. In the case of breakdown, escort personnel are responsible for coning off the abnormal loads or vehicle. Therefore, it would be appropriate to include a clause in the job description that staff members are responsible for ensuring their own and others’ safety. There is little specific advice for escorts or the drivers of abnormal loads and vehicles on how to perform in different types of road and traffic conditions. This means the advice is somewhat vague and open to interpretation. Escorting Criteria The Code provides escorting criteria, which are for guidance only, and can be varied by individual police forces. RoSPA would prefer to see basic standards for both motorways and all other roads above which an escort must be provided. Many abnormal loads need to be transported across police area boundaries and differences between police forces could lead to confusion. 3
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Response to the Highways Agency Consultation Paper “Proposed Code of Practice Self-Escorting of Abnormal Loads and Abnormal Vehicles” April 2004 The criteria does not include speed. As some abnormal loads and vehicles move at slow speeds, the inclusion of a speed criteria should be considered. For example, a large vehicle moving at no more than 30 mph on a 70 mph dual carriageway represents a hazard even if it is not wide enough to protrude into the outside lane. RoSPA welcomes the inclusion of clauses highlighting the need for a police escort on certain routes or in certain situations, and that special order loads may require a combination of police and self-escort vehicles. The Society thanks the Highways Agency for the opportunity to comment on these proposals. We have no objections to our response being reproduced or attributed. Road Safety Department RoSPA Edgbaston Park 353 Bristol Road Birmingham B5 7ST 0121 248 2000 www.rospa.com 4
Page 1 and 2: THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTIO
Page 3: The Royal Society for the Preventio

Self Escorting Abnormal Loads and Abnormal Vehicles - RoSPA

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?