WorkSafe is taking court action against an Otago company over the 2017 death of a truck driver killed by a vehicle in Bluff. The Otago-based company used contracted truck drivers to transport palm kernel, a kind of animal feed, from South Port to a shed in Bluff where the fatal accident took place. He said while the company had written safety procedures, they were “overly dependent on administrative controls”. The company relied too heavily on workers being vigilant, making no mistakes and following directions, he alleged. He said while reversing he checked his left mirror, saw the hoist of the truck behind him and pressed his brakes, the court heard.
