Health and safety, and lighting.

[DaveL86]

Can anyone tell me if there is any law that says that an outside pedestrian area that customers use must be sufficiently lit if its to be used at night time?

the HSE says "Adequate lighting should be provided to all areas and especially to those areas used in darkness hours" however does the HSE just cover people working for the company or can you send a report/complaint as a customer of the company if you believe they are unsafe?

To cut a long story short before someone asks I had a near miss with a car while at a 24hr supermarket (will remain nameless for forum rules) the area of the petrol station was unlit (air/water station) I made a complaint to be told its the responsibility of the drivers to look where they are going, in my opinion if lighting had been in place the driver would have seen me and it wouldn't be a problem.

[Nickyboy]

Unless i'm mistaken you have little light up things on the front and rear of your car

[Dark Helmet]

Absolutely right ... and in poorly lit or unlit areas, the thing which H&S has replaced is COMMON SENSE

Even so, this is a potential SAFETY issue, it has all to do with Health unless an accident happens. But since they put those two words together they can legislate and dictate on a HUGE number of issues in which they have no qualifications.


BG

[DaveL86]

Nickyboy said:

Unless i'm mistaken you have little light up things on the front and rear of your car

That wasn't the question I asked really, but thanks for the reply.

[herewego]

It doesn't sound like a pedestrian area but it does sound like someone was driving without too much care, so maybe you should go after the driver rather than the shop.

[BGB autosport]

Firstly any business has a duty to ensure the safety of their employees (as far as reasonably practicable), do their employees enter this area? If so it should be adequately lit to a level comparative to the hazard.

Going on from this they also have a duty to members of the public, to ensure their safety from the hazards created by the operations of their business. In other words if this was one of their vehicles they should ensure you are protected, if this means adding lighting then so be it as that is reasonable. If it was Joe public in his car then they are not really obliged to do much at all.

[DaveL86]

BGB autosport said:

Going on from this they also have a duty to members of the public, to ensure their safety from the hazards created by the operations of their business. In other words if this was one of their vehicles they should ensure you are protected, if this means adding lighting then so be it as that is reasonable. If it was Joe public in his car then they are not really obliged to do much at all.

Thanks thats the sort of information I was looking for.


I did get a stty reply to my complaint though but I think this was due to the fact I CC'd the CEO's email address as it had "Thank you once again, for taking the time and trouble to bring this matter to the attention of our Chief Executive"

Think I'll have to CC the CEO when I send my reply

[skwdenyer]

DaveL86 said:

Nickyboy said:

Unless i'm mistaken you have little light up things on the front and rear of your car

That wasn't the question I asked really, but thanks for the reply.

Whilst that's true, you don't seem to have addressed the issue behind it: how do you think it is reasonable that a shop should need to provide lighting over and above what is deemed safe on the normal public highways?

If you didn't think it was reasonable that the shop should do so, clearly no complaint would be warranted.

[jazzyjeff]

skwdenyer said:

DaveL86 said:

Nickyboy said:

Unless i'm mistaken you have little light up things on the front and rear of your car

That wasn't the question I asked really, but thanks for the reply.

Whilst that's true, you don't seem to have addressed the issue behind it: how do you think it is reasonable that a shop should need to provide lighting over and above what is deemed safe on the normal public highways?

If you didn't think it was reasonable that the shop should do so, clearly no complaint would be warranted.

Quite

Just adjust your driving in accordance with the prevailing conditions instead of trying to find a scapegoat to salve your conscience.

JJ

[rash_decision]

Nickyboy said:

Unless i'm mistaken you have little light up things on the front and rear of your car

How sensible!

[voyds9]

With complaints like that I would cone off the area so you couldn't blow up your inflatables.

[mudster]

BS EN 12464 covers lighting of outdoor workplaces.

BS 5489 part1 covers car parks.

If you could demonstrate one of these standards were applicable but not achieved you may have a case.