Retired businessman James Gaffney was driving the utility vehicle down a slope while collecting dead game following one of the regular pheasant shoots on the Urra estate when the vehicle overturned. Mr Gaffney wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and suffered fatal head injuries.
He was found trapped in the vehicle later that day and was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident on 31 October 2013.
HSE’s identified that Mr Reeve, the senior partner and co-owner of the Urra estate,was responsible for managing health and safety on the estate. However, they found no one on the estate had bothered to use the seat belt on the all-terrain vehicle as no one had been told they had to.
Mr Reeve was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £1,681 in costs after admitting breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Investigating HSE inspector Julian Franklin said:
“This was a very tragic event that could have so easily been prevented. It is more than likely that use of the seatbelt would have saved Mr Gaffney’s life.”
“It is important to follow manufacturer’s instructions and freely-available guidance from HSE when using any machinery, including the various types of workplace transport. The precautions necessary are largely common sense but employers or companies must make sure that all workers put them into practice as a matter of routine.”
For a range of advice on farm or machinery safety, visit http://www.hse.gov.uk