Every day me and  my friends at Thompsons Solicitors work hard to help improve Health and Safety for workers and members of the public.  I was pleased to see that Argyll and Bute Council have been fined £20,000 after the death of a pensioner who died after accidentally driving his car off the edge of a pier.  After the car accident the car sadly plunged into the sea.

Argyll and Bute Council plead guilty to a health and safety breach after it was discovered that there were no safety barriers where the car was parked.  A safety barrier would have prevented the accident or at least alerted drivers to the presence of a danger.  The pensioner who had the accident had no way of knowing that he was potentially facing a lethal drop.

The Health and Safety Inspector advised the court that a “simple risk assessment would have identified the clear risks of an unprotected sheer drop into the sea at the edge of the car park – but sadly the council failed to do this”.

As a driver who enjoys scenic picnics at seaside resorts, I was very worried to hear that the pier did not have any traffic barriers or hand rails which might have prevented this tragic fatal accident.

The Council assured the court that all car parks located on or next to piers were re-examined to ensure that there are no similar problems in the future.