A family killed
Ann Copeland, 45, and daughters Ciara, 7, and Niamh, 10, were killed in a car crash in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 2008 after their car lost control on a slick road.
A 2012 fatal accident inquiry at Stonehaven Sheriff Court, presided over by Sheriff Kenneth Stewart, heard from experts who said that hydraulic oil leaking from a Terex PPM ATT400 all terrain owned by William Whyte Cargo Handlers Limited was the probable cause of the slick.
Oil came from a hose connected to the suspension valves on the crane, that play a role in sensing whether or not the crane is level. The hose spurted oil on the road when the suspension system was leveling the crane as it rounded bends, testified consulting engineer, Timothy Watson.
Accident investigator Daniel Pointin told the court it would have taken just twenty-four seconds to leak four-to-five gallons of oil through a 3mm hole.
The court said that if William Whyte’s had in place a system of inspection and planned preventative maintenance and ensured that crane drivers actually carried out daily and weekly checks, the accident would have been less likely.
The hose had been incorrectly positioned with reference to the manufacturer’s guidelines, so it rubbed against the transmission mounting until it failed. The hose should have been routed away from contact with other parts of the crane.
Consultant expert Tim Watson testified at the Fatal Accident Inquiry. He said, "The hose should have been checked as part of the routine maintenance procedure, although this might have involved using a mirror or the sense of touch to examine the side of the hose adjacent to the chassis."
"Had it been checked, it would have been obvious that the outer sheath and wire brading had been worn away by contact with a bracket, exposing the inner part of the hose, leaving it unsupported and liable to fail under pressure."
In this case William Whyte’s staff had in error thought the six monthly independent inspection of the crane in terms of the UK Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations, included checks on the roadworthiness of the crane, the inquiry determined.
However as the hose was only pressurised when the crane was travelling on the road it was therefore part of roadworthiness maintenance, says Watson. That meant it was not covered by LOLER, which only considers the crane’s use in lifting.
The court recommended that the UK enact legislation that could potentially allow regular tests of roadworthiness. In addition, existing regulations should be revised to make clear crane roadworthiness is the owner’s responsibility, the inquiry found.
Calls for roadworthiness tests
Sir Robert Smith, the MP for MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, called on the UK government to act in response to the inquiry’s recommendations. In Early Day Motion 830, Mobile Cranes and MOTs, presented to parliament on 10 December with eight signatures in support, he calls on the Department for Transport (DFT) to write up specific legislation introducing independent testing for mobile crane roadworthiness and removing a current exemption from the UK’s MOT vehicle testing regime.
While the EDM is not an actionable act of parliament, it tells the ruling government it should consider writing one. If the DFT does not respond, the ruling party risks losing backbench support.
The UK law requires that all road vehicles, including mobile cranes are maintained so that "… no danger is caused or is likely to be caused to any person in or on the vehicle or on a road".
Already, all UK road users have a duty to make sure their vehicles don’t cause accidents. Geoffery Marsh, managing director of Marsh Plant hire said, "There are plenty of legal avenues for recourse against people who don’t maintain their cranes. There are a lot of roadside checks by VOSA, the Vehicle and Operator Services Authority.
"A crane owner should be responsible in the method of operation, and maintain their carrier for the highway."
Watson explained that in the UK, some vehicles are exempted from annual roadworthiness testing.
"When MOTs were introduced in 1962 there were a number of exemptions made, generally for vehicles that didn’t travel very far on the roads for example, vehicles that operate on offshore islands." Watson says.
"At the time there were far fewer mobile cranes on the road and they tended not to travel very far. As time has gone on the number of cranes has increased and they tend to travel greater distances on the road."
Workable roadworthiness tests
The UK Contractors Plant-hire Association (CPA) Crane Interest Group, which represents the majority of UK mobile crane owners, is in favour of removing the exemption on mobile cranes from the annual MOT test.
Their concern is that proper local facilities for the test are provided prior to the removal of the exemption. Large mobile cranes are not able to fit into some current test facilities and a sensible lead time will be required to allow suitable test facilities to be established.
One element of the current MOT that would obstruct a workable removal of the exemption is the requirement for brake tests. Rolling roads are used to test the efficiency of a vehicle’s brakes on each axle, one axle at a time. The wheels are moved into position onto the rollers, with the transmission in neutral, and the rollers then turn the cranes’ wheels. The brakes are applied, and the braking force is measured, from which the efficiency is calculated. A powerful motor and strong structural components are needed to support the axle and turn the wheels at the required speed.
Many in the industry think that there are currently too few rolling roads available suitable to perform brake tests on mobile cranes. However, that is changing. Richard Everist, managing director of Liebherr Great Britain, says, " "A few more rolling roads suitable for cranes have come into the UK over recent years. People have been taking a gamble on this sort of regulation coming into force. We installed one in 2004 when we moved into our new purpose built workshop in Biggleswade.
"It’s not the size that’s the issue, but the capacity. Axle weights are the problem. For a standard truck you only need to be able test 9t per axle. For cranes we’re regularly going up to 16t per axle, and for bigger cranes it can go higher."
In response to a DfT consultation on the removal of MOT exemptions, held in 2010, the CPA has offered to meet with the DfT to work out a solution to the issues surrounding mobile crane roadworthiness testing, said Colin Wood, CPA.
