Croydon Tram Accident Report Analysis - Part 1
Below is part of an email sent to CEO Tim O'Toole on the 16th May 2013.
"The consequences of ignoring reality", or in this case IGNORANCE was deaths, injuries, mourning and sadness and as I have always stated, this accident should never have been allowed to happen. This management's attitude towards their staff and health & safety issues has been highlighted by the Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents as a major concern, yet I have highlighted this for years, it has always been the case and will continue to be, because I guarantee one thing, this will be quickly forgotten and normal service will resume - IGNORANCE - more deaths will eventually follow.
Below you will see two recent statements made by CEO Tim O'Toole.
STATEMENT NUMBER ONE
"We're all very proud of the safety culture and record at First Group".
"What safety culture"?
You never had a safety culture, your management's idea of a safety culture was "them and us", I was one of "them" who was totally ignored when reporting all safety concerns and all of the other workers were frightened to report anything in case your management used it as a weapon against them. Amazingly from this Accident report we see the same issue which to my knowledge has been happening for 14 years.
Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents: "There needs to be improvements to safety management systems, particularly encouraging a culture in which everyone feels able to report their own mistakes".
"Improvements to the tram operator's safety management arrangements so as to encourage staff to report their own mistakes and other safety issues".
Drivers of these trams reported: There had been occasions on which they had used heavy braking or used the hazard emergency brake in order to regain their speed at this location. None of them reported these events to the manager's because of the perceived attitude of some manager's and because the driver's feared the consequences for themselves if they did so.
Sadly this is what everyone encountered within TransPennine Express and became the norm, the following are extracts from a statement titled "Christian Hobbin R.I.P" on this website, made by a TPE driver who sadly is no longer with us, Christian Hobbin. Christian was one of a handful of drivers who dared to challenge this hierarchy known as First Group Management.
"This would be more productive to the industry than catching driver's, sorry robot's out and less time would be wasted and put to real safety issues, like signal sighting etc. We still have a railway culture of not reporting incidents or issues because we have a history of management style which are out to get you instead of being realistic and trustworthy, big brother watching your every move".
Regarding the sad loss of Christian, the following is what a relative said, I leave the reader's of this to their own thoughts.
"A few years ago a relative, a young train driver was so pursued and monitored with constant downloads over speed as to drive his car off the road after a railway multiple management visit, attentions that followed his offering assistance to a person they wished to openly dismiss for perceived whistleblowing, as a result of what they had create themselves by doing what others had bidden them to do, knowing it was wrong".
That is the real "PROUD SAFETY CULTURE", CEO Tim O'Toole is talking about, a complete shambles and that is putting it mildly!
"We're all very proud of the safety culture and record at First Group".
"What record?
I have no idea what so called record this man could be talking about, there is a well documented record of ignorance that has evidence in abundance called tpeconspiracy.weebly.com, this very website.
STATEMENT NUMBER TWO
"Safety is a core value for First Group and central to our culture as a company".
"A few years ago a relative, a young train driver was so pursued and monitored with constant downloads over speed as to drive his car off the road after a railway multiple management visit, attentions that followed his offering assistance to a person they wished to openly dismiss for perceived whistleblowing, as a result of what they had create themselves by doing what others had bidden them to do, knowing it was wrong".
That is the real "PROUD SAFETY CULTURE", CEO Tim O'Toole is talking about, a complete shambles and that is putting it mildly!
"We're all very proud of the safety culture and record at First Group".
"What record?
I have no idea what so called record this man could be talking about, there is a well documented record of ignorance that has evidence in abundance called tpeconspiracy.weebly.com, this very website.
STATEMENT NUMBER TWO
"Safety is a core value for First Group and central to our culture as a company".
The following is taken from First Group's website regarding their thoughts on safety.
Safety
The safety of our customers and colleagues is our No1 priority. It’s a way of life here! It’s at the top of the agenda in everything we do from working practices to service delivery.
As nothing less than excellence will do, we’re totally dedicated to achieving the highest safety standards possible. Never complacent and ever vigilant, we’ve made huge strides to continuously monitor our safety performance and develop industry leading safety practices, procedures and management systems. We’re also constantly innovating and launching new initiatives, such as our Injury Prevention programme. Unprecedented in our industry, this firmly embeds safety into our everyday culture.
From day one here, you’ll find that we put safety at the heart of everything we do. Our goal is zero incidents and zero injuries. First to Zero! So, you’ll learn how to assess risks, carry out safety procedures, prevent accidents and look after yourself and others. Most of all, you’ll follow our golden rule – if you cannot do it safely – don’t do it! After all, safety starts with us and we're not satisfied until we're certain it's 100% safe.
PROPAGANDA at it's best.
"The safety of our customers and colleagues is our No 1 priority, it's a way of life here". Bullying and ignorance - "a way of life"! How do they have the cheek to promote safety as their number one priority?
"Nothing less than excellence will do".
"Dedicated to achieving the highest safety standards".
"Never complacent and ever vigilant".
"Injury prevention programme", "embeds safety into our everyday culture".
"Safety at the heart of everything we do".
"Prevent accidents".
"If you cannot do it safely, don't do it".
"We're not satisfied until we're certain it's 100% safe".
"ITS A WAY OF LIFE HERE"! Explain to the families and friends of those seven people who died and the many that were injured just how those statements above were embedded into your "WAY OF LIFE"?
If these principles were part of your safety culture and way of life there would have been no accident.
NO BLOODY WONDER I CALL THIS PROPAGANDA.
Safety
The safety of our customers and colleagues is our No1 priority. It’s a way of life here! It’s at the top of the agenda in everything we do from working practices to service delivery.
As nothing less than excellence will do, we’re totally dedicated to achieving the highest safety standards possible. Never complacent and ever vigilant, we’ve made huge strides to continuously monitor our safety performance and develop industry leading safety practices, procedures and management systems. We’re also constantly innovating and launching new initiatives, such as our Injury Prevention programme. Unprecedented in our industry, this firmly embeds safety into our everyday culture.
From day one here, you’ll find that we put safety at the heart of everything we do. Our goal is zero incidents and zero injuries. First to Zero! So, you’ll learn how to assess risks, carry out safety procedures, prevent accidents and look after yourself and others. Most of all, you’ll follow our golden rule – if you cannot do it safely – don’t do it! After all, safety starts with us and we're not satisfied until we're certain it's 100% safe.
PROPAGANDA at it's best.
"The safety of our customers and colleagues is our No 1 priority, it's a way of life here". Bullying and ignorance - "a way of life"! How do they have the cheek to promote safety as their number one priority?
"Nothing less than excellence will do".
"Dedicated to achieving the highest safety standards".
"Never complacent and ever vigilant".
"Injury prevention programme", "embeds safety into our everyday culture".
"Safety at the heart of everything we do".
"Prevent accidents".
"If you cannot do it safely, don't do it".
"We're not satisfied until we're certain it's 100% safe".
"ITS A WAY OF LIFE HERE"! Explain to the families and friends of those seven people who died and the many that were injured just how those statements above were embedded into your "WAY OF LIFE"?
If these principles were part of your safety culture and way of life there would have been no accident.
NO BLOODY WONDER I CALL THIS PROPAGANDA.