Dallas McMillan's Glasgow Lawyers' Blog

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is renewing its call on the government to make driving on rural A-roads a mandatory part of the driving test.

IAM research shows that 82% of rural fatal and serious casualties are on single carriageway roads compared with just 18% on motorways and dual carriageway roads.

However the current driving test fails to take this into account. While good instructors understand that experience on a wide variety of roads in different conditions gives young people the best chance of survival, all too many merely educate up to the existing test standard. Knowledge of parking, emergency stops and low speed manoeuvres is important but dealing with high speed corners, bad weather, and overtaking are far more vital skills.

The recent report from the IAM 'The fast and the curious', found that new drivers themselves felt unprepared for real life scenarios and would welcome extra help.

The IAM has written to the road safety minister to outline its views on how it believes the government should tackle deaths and accidents of the highest risk group on our roads, young drivers. This starts with improving the driving test to include training on our most dangerous roads – single-carriageway rural A-roads.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “Driver and rider error is a contributory factor in two thirds of accidents. We can only improve our cars and roads so far. The challenge now is to improve the humans that drive them, to continue our outstanding record of road safety.”

The Court of Session has ruled that responsibility for a car crash that killed two people and severely injured a third was shared equally between two of the drivers involved, reports the Scotsman.

Thirteen-year-old Kaya McInnes survived the accident, which happened in the Highlands in 2007, but was so badly injured she needed to learn to walk again. It was recognised that she was entitled to compensation, however liability for payment was disputed between the insurance companies of the two drivers at fault.

The Court ruling means that both companies, Norwich Union and Axa, will both be liable to pay an equal share of the compensation. According to the Scotsman, the exact amount of money involved has not been revealed.

Following recent concerns regarding French Poly Implant Prostheses implants, the Government has announced a review, led by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS Medical Director, to look at the arrangements for ensuring the safety of people seeking cosmetic interventions such as breast implants and dermal fillers.

In addition, the Care Quality Commission is to conduct a swift review of private clinics that offer cosmetic surgery. They will look at whether they meet essential levels of safety and quality and at the information and support they provide to their patients. Where a provider does not meet these requirements, the CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use to protect the safety of patients.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, said:

“The safety of people who decide to have cosmetic surgery or a cosmetic intervention is my sole aim. The vast majority of practitioners in the cosmetic industry are professional and well skilled – but I’m concerned that the sector as a whole does not have the systems for monitoring the results for patients and alerting us to possible problems.

“I will work with the industry to improve regulation and governance and increase consumer confidence.”

A specialist crane supplier has been fined £180,000 after a worker was killed when a large steel beam fell on him at an incinerator in Slough, Berkshire.

Colin Dickson, 38, of Motherwell, died when the temporary suspension points on a suspended beam he was under failed. The 1.4 tonne beam fell five metres onto Mr Dickson causing fatal injuries to his chest, and fractures to his legs and back.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Mr Dickson's employers J H Carruthers Ltd and one of its supervisors after an investigation into how the lifting operation failed.

The HSE investigation found that the lifting operation could have been successful if the whole process had been planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner from the outset.

HSE's Inspector Karen Morris said:

"This tragic incident shows the importance of carrying out a thorough assessment of hazards and properly managing all lifting operations. This was a complex and unusual lift which went drastically wrong due to a lack of competent planning and a failure to supervise and carry out the task safely. The risks involved in such lifting operations should not be underestimated.

"Health and safety law places stringent requirements on employers in these circumstances, for very good reason. This incident was entirely preventable and it should act as a reminder to others that standards need to be maintained to ensure the safety of workers at all times."

J H Carruthers Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The firm was fined £180,000 and ordered to pay costs of £74,000.

A consultation on the development of a safety system for adventure activities in Scotland has been launched by the Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison.

The Scottish Government is considering the best way forward for Scotland in light of the UK Government's plan to replace the statutory Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) with a new voluntary code of practice.

The AALA was established in 1995 to licence caving, climbing, trekking and watersports operators after four young people lost their lives canoeing at Lyme Bay in Dorset.

The consultation seeks views on three proposals:

A recent survey by road safety charity Brake and Direct Line Car Insurance has revealed that one in nine young drivers (11%) has driven after taking illegal drugs in the past year.

The survey also found that 3% of young drivers (age 17-24) said they get behind the wheel after taking drugs once a month or more. Slightly more young drivers are admitting drug driving than four years ago, when one in eleven young drivers (9%) owned up to this potentially deadly behaviour.

Brake is calling for long-needed reform, including:

Private landlords who rent out residential property either by themselves or via a letting agency are now subject to new rules pertaining to deposits paid by an incoming tenant.

The window of opportunity for first time buyers to benefit from relief from stamp duty land tax in transactions with considerations not exceeding £250,000 will close on 24th March 2012.

Stamp duty land tax is ordinarily payable on the purchase of residential property at the rate of 1% for considerations over £125,000 but  not exceeding £250,000 (with higher rates of tax applying to considerations over £250,000).

The Budget on 24th March 2010 created a 2 year period within which relief from stamp duty land tax was given to first time buyers where the price paid for a house did not exceed £250,000.

I n a few short weeks that relief will end and first time buyers will again have to find additional sums to meet the tax liability which in the current depressed market conditions  is unlikely in many cases  to be easily achievable.

The removal of the relief will be another obstacle in the revitalisation of the residential property market.

A construction company and its managing director have been sentenced after a father-of-two was crushed to death when a crane overturned in Liverpool.

A woman from Edinburgh has been awarded compensation after slipping on a wet floor in a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland, reports the BBC.

As you may have learned recently in the media, the former Chief Executive of Rangers FC, Martin Bain, is claiming at least £960,000 damages from Rangers FC in connection with the termination of his employment.  Following a recent Court Hearing, Mr. Bain was granted Warrant by the Court to arrest £480,000 of funds  due to Rangers “on the dependence of his claim”.

Many of you will have read recently in the Press about the compensation claim brought by a visitor to Niddrie Golf Club against both the Golf Club itself and the member golfer whose wayward tee shot hit him in the eye.

A self-employed blacksmith and fabricator has been fined after one of his employees was severely injured when he fell more than seven metres from a roof he was working on.

As part of its Eighth Programme of Law Reform, the Scottish Law Commission conducted a short-term project on partnership criminal liability, the results of which have now been published in the Commission's Report on the Criminal Liability of Partnerships.

A company and its manager have been fined after two workers were engulfed in a fireball when they cut through a live 1,000 volt electrical cable at an industrial unit in Telford.

A woman from Norfolk has been awarded over £9 million in compensation for injuries she received as a child, reports the BBC.

A housebuilder has been fined £20,000 after a young boy was seriously injured when some timber roof trusses fell onto him.

The TUC has welcomed the Löfstedt report's conclusion that the UK's health and safety laws 'are broadly right', but it has major concerns that the proposals to exempt some self-employed workers could have a devastating impact on their safety.

The owner of a Blackpool double-glazing firm has appeared in court after one of his employees was seriously injured in a fall from a ladder.

Young people who have lost loved ones in devastating young driver crashes are calling for action to tackle the biggest killer of people their age at the launch of Road Safety Week, coordinated by the charity Brake.