“How to keep the railway running and stay out of gaol” a presentation by Clive Fletcher-Wood OBE Hon FIRO

Members of the IRO are no doubt aware that the current safety record for UK rail is the best which it has ever been. Nevertheless, in the last two years a Network Rail signaller has been fined £1,750 and a Merseyrail guard imprisoned for manslaughter as a result of their actions at work. Companies have seen the penalties applied under the Health & Safety at Work Act steadily increase. Clive Fletcher-Wood has been personally involved in most of the inquiries, inquests and court cases which have followed the (mercifully few) fatal railway accidents since rail privatisation. Clive is uniquely placed to describe not only what the law says but how it has been applied and how the application of the law has changed in response to public opinion.

Clive summarised the legal position for both companies and individuals under the Health & Safety at Work Act and the law governing both corporate and individual manslaughter. There has been a change in public mood from a view that “accidents will happen” to a view that accidents have an underlying cause and therefore someone must be responsible and should be held to account. As a result, there is greater public pressure for prosecutions.

Clive quoted Sir Michael Bishop of bmi as saying after the Kegworth air crash “If you think that safety is expensive, try having an accident.” The corporate impact of an accident can threaten a company’s survival. Clive’s advice for staying out of gaol included not only implementing a safe approach to work (“embedded safety”) but ensuring that you are able to produce written evidence to demonstrate this. This evidence includes keeping a record of decisions especially decisions not to change something. Clive’s advice in respect of individuals was that companies should not allow them to be interviewed alone by investigators. Individuals in safety-critical roles should not be rostered to work on the day of an interview. Individuals called as witnesses in legal proceedings should tell the truth. They should be briefed on what to expect from the legal process and be cautioned against speaking about areas outside their immediate expertise.

This was a fascinating talk from Clive which combined practical advice arising from a detailed insight into recent railway accidents and the legal proceedings which followed them.