A96 Fochabers roundabout accident: EIR release

Information requested

12 questions in relation to an accident on 4 May 2019 at Fochabers Roundabout where it joins the B9041. You clarified by telephone that the location is where the B9104 meets the Fochabers Roundabout.

1. Did you or any of your employees in an official or unofficial capacity attend the locus in response to a 999 call (or non-emergency call)?
2. Details of the caller making the call.
3. The information passed to the Control Room or depot by the caller in the course of the 999 call (or non-emergency call).
4. How did you become aware of the accident/diesel spillage, if not through the 999 call or (or non-emergency call)?
5. When you or your employees or staff attended the locus, did you witness any surface contamination on the road?
6. Did you ascertain the nature of the contamination and identify what it was?
7. Did you take any action concerning the surface contamination such as sanding it or applying detergent?
8. Who made you aware of the surface contamination and/or our client's accident?
9. Did you witness our client or his motorcycle at the locus?
10. Did you see our client injured there?
11. Can you confirm that he was removed by ambulance to your knowledge?
12. Please let us have any documents you hold concerning any reports or reporting orInformation concerning our client's accident or copies thereof.

 

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations.  We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. 

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’.  Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.  We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes.  This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

I have added each individual question for ease of reference.

1. Did you or any of your employees in an official or unofficial capacity attend the locus in response to a 999 call (or non-emergency call)?
   Yes our Operating Company attended the scene.
2. Details of the caller making the call.
   Annex A to this response is the call log of the incident.
3. The information passed to the Control Room or depot by the caller in the course of the 999 call (or non-emergency call).
   Please see Annex A for details of the call reporting the incident.
4. How did you become aware of the accident/diesel spillage, if not through the 999 call or (or non-emergency call)?
   Please see question 2.
5. When you or your employees or staff attended the locus, did you witness any surface contamination on the road?
   A diesel/oil spillage was noted.
6. Did you ascertain the nature of the contamination and identify what it was?
   See question 5.
7. Did you take any action concerning the surface contamination such as sanding it or applying detergent?
   An Incident Support Unit (ISU) was deployed to assess the area following Police Scotland’s notification. ISU erected slippery road signs on all approaches, a spreader deployed to sand the roundabout, 1/2 tonne of sand was put out.
8. Who made you aware of the surface contamination and/or our client's accident?
   See question 3.
9. Did you witness our client or his motorcycle at the locus?
   The motorcycle was still at the scene.
10. Did you see our client injured there?
    No
11. Can you confirm that he was removed by ambulance to your knowledge?
    While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we do not have the information you have requested.  Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs.  This is because this is information not known. This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’.  Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.  We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.  While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about when your client was removed from the scene of the accident, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
12. Please let us have any documents you hold concerning any reports or reporting or Information concerning our client's accident or copies thereof.
    The incident call log is attached at Annex A and the incident report is attached at Annex B.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI-20-00067 Information released - Annex A

File type

1 page PDF

File size

50.8 kB

FOI-20-00067 Information released - Annex B

File type

1 page PDF

File size

723.1 kB