Lawford Kidd's Blog

European Road Safety Day took place on 6th May and its theme this year was "pedestrian road safety".

Of the 30,000 people killed on European roads per year (28,000 in 2012), on average 21% are pedestrians, 7% are cyclists and 18% are riders of motorcycles and mopeds. Around 70% of the pedestrians who die are killed within urban areas.

There is cause for concern because, during the past ten years, the number of pedestrians killed in road accidents has not decreased to the same extent as the total number of road deaths. Almost half of all road deaths in urban areas involve a pedestrian or a cyclist.

A chemical firm has been fined £120,000 after an employee sustained severe burns when he was engulfed by a fireball at a factory in Wirral.

The 45-year-old was kept in an induced coma for seven weeks following a chemical explosion at the plant on 28th February last year.

The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an investigation into the incident, which left the employee with burns to his face, right arm and upper body.

While the number of fatal injuries in the workplace has fallen slightly, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is still being called upon to investigate a disturbing number of cases in which an employee has died.

The figures indicate that employers are still not doing enough to ensure the safety of their workers, and workers are continuing to pay for these failings with their lives.

Fatal injury rate

A Bill that makes provision for the prosecution in Scotland of partnerships, partners and others following dissolution or changes in membership, has completed its passage through Parliament.

The Partnerships (Prosecution) (Scotland) Bill is now waiting for Royal Assent, and will come into force on the day after the assent is granted.

The Bill closes a legal loophole in Scottish partnership law, which came to light after the tragic death of 14 elderly residents in a fire at the Rosepark nursing home in Lanarkshire in 2004.

The number of people dying in road traffic accidents across Europe fell by 9% in 2012, according to new figures released by the European Commission (EC).

This drop means that the number of road traffic fatalities is now at its lowest level since the data was first collected.

A landmark year for road safety

Vice-President Siim Kallas, Commissioner for Transport, has described 2012 as a “landmark year” for road safety in Europe, highlighting that a 9% decrease means that 3,000 lives were saved.