Blowing the whistle – how will executive officers react to the new CoR laws?

The new Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws will bring recast obligations for chain parties underpinned by significantly increased penalties for breach.

The 'headline' obligation is the Primary Duty set out at section 26C to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of the party's transport activities relating to a vehicle.

The headline Category 1 penalty which is designed to catch the attention of all directors and officers is the potential for up to five-years imprisonment where a person, without reasonable excuse, engages in conduct related to the Primary Duty that exposes an individual to a risk of death or serious injury or illness while being reckless to that risk.