Vehicle collision with crossover barrier and live pipe

A driver lost control of the vehicle and hit the metallic hard protection barrier of a cross over and one tyre fell on a flow line and was punctured due to the fall impact.

The driver was not hurt and exited the car safely.

He could not communicate with emergency services, as he did not have credit on their mobile.

The driver did not declare the incident immediately, but the health and safety (HSE ) and the site transport management team  were contacted one hour after the incident to conduct the required investigation.

The local authorities took disciplinary action against the violating driver and communicated with the employer.

The in-vehicle monitoring system (VDO type) report showed that harsh braking and harsh acceleration were applied just before the incident.

The driver:

• had no site-specific driving license;
• had an expired local driving license;
• failed the defensive driving test;
• was using his colleague’s personal driving key to operate the vehicle. Mileage was 96,000 km (59,650 miles), which was not reported before the incident.

There was no control of the vehicles accessing the block and no formal acceptance test/inspection was done on site.

The maximum speed before the incident was 61 km/h (38 miles/h), highlighting the potential significance of vehicle speed and its implications on control and safety.

All personnel and site visitors should possess valid driving licenses and strictly adhere to road safety protocols.

Establish clear communication channels and reporting protocols for incidents, ensuring timely notification to emergency services and relevant authorities.

Conduct regular driving assessments and defensive driving tests and ensure that assessment results are communicated to the employee hierarchy upon completion to identify areas for improvement and promote accountability for safe driving practices.

Issue periodic reminders personnel of road safety rules on and around our site.

If applicable, consider conducting a survey to assess the need for extensions on U-blocks on crossovers on live lines with high holding cost (HC) inventory.

Issue safety notice and communicate it with all teams. Disseminate incidents at periodic safety and road safety meetings.

How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?

How did the failure to report the vehicle's mileage before the incident impact the overall understanding of the vehicle's maintenance and condition?

How do we prevent unauthorised use of colleagues’ personal driving keys on and around our site? If we lack a procedure for this, what steps should we take?

How do we know that the current risk controls/barriers are working, and what improvements or changes should we make to enhance safety?