Health & Safety Enforcement Officers and Local Authority Environmental Officers’ issues

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As Health & Safety Enforcement Officers should be guided by the rules of the Authorised Off Road Events’ Governing Bodies, let’s look first at the implications of the Motor Vehicles Off Road Events Regulations 1992 to Organisers and how the existing Authorising Bodies have set the basic rules for all Off Road Events to follow.

Since the Government introduced the Off Highway Regulations in 1992, there are now basically two types of event, Authorised or Un-authorised.

Authorised Events are approved by one of the 11 Authorising Bodies. These include: the RAC, ACU, Association of Rover Clubs, Amateur Motor Cycle Association, British Schoolboy Motorcycle Association, National Autograss Sport Association, Scottish ACU, Youth Motor Cycle Sporting Association, NORA, National Traction Engine Trust and The International Organisation of Professional Drivers – the IOPD. The IOPD is the Governing Association specialising in commercial activities and venues, corporate entertainment, displays and testing, stunt and speed events.

The Health & Safety Executive uses these Organisations’ Codes of Practice as the base line for Off Road Events.

The Association of Authorising Bodies represents a recognised multi-billion pound industry by the Government and events conducted under their Authorisation Permits are granted immunity from prosecution under the 1992 Regulations.

Un-authorised Events are those which are not conducted under Permit of Authorisation and in which participants, organisers and landowners alike are all liable to prosecution if:

• Vehicles are not entirely road legal (apart from Road Tax)
• Drivers are not appropriately licensed
• Driving is not of a safe and reasonable standard as would be expected on a public road
• Driving is dangerous, and is such that it could cause the death of another person,
• Driving is conducted without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for another person

Also, under Section 22 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, an Inspector may issue a Notice immediately stopping any event where he perceives there is a serious risk to safety. Or he may, as a result of an accident, bring a prosecution against an organiser with the potential of up to £20,000 in fines or a prison sentence in extreme circumstances.

Indeed, the Health & Safety Executive may now bring prosecutions through the courts where fines of up to £10,000.00 can be handed down on operators who put people in a dangerous situation without justification. If there is a dangerous occurrence resulting in a death, they may also bring an action through the Crown Court system that may result in a fine of up to £30,000 and a possible custodial sentence.

Permits of Authorisation document a system that recognises the possibility that dangerous and careless driving may occur at auto events (and even the possibility of death by dangerous or careless driving) and exempts those involved from prosecution under the Road Traffic Acts on the assumption that the risks were entered into knowingly by the participants.