Mines and Quarries Act 1954

34 General provisions with respect to construction and maintenance of roads

(1) It shall be the duty of the manager of every mine to take, with respect to every length of road therein, being a length in which vehicles or conveyors run or which is used, at the beginning or end of a shift by not less than ten persons for the purpose of walking to or from their working places in the mine, such steps as may be necessary to secure that the following provisions are complied with, namely,—

(a) every such length of road made after the commencement of this Act shall be so made and maintained as to avoid sudden changes of direction, height, width and gradient save in so far as either—

(i) the system of working the mine or the natural conditions of the strata therein render it inadvisable for reasons of safety to do so ; or

(ii) it is unnecessary to do so;

(b) every such length of road (whether made before or after the commencement of this Act) shall be kept free from obstructions and the floor thereof shall be kept in good repair and in such a condition that any persons or animals who use that length of road can tread it with safety and reasonable convenience.

(2) If, with respect to any such length of road as aforesaid in a mine (being a length made before the commencement of this Act) an inspector is of opinion that any sudden change therein of direction, height, width or gradient ought to be eliminated, he may serve on the manager of the mine a notice specifying that length of road and any such sudden change as aforesaid which he thinks ought to be eliminated and requiring the manager to execute, before the expiration of such period beginning with the date on which the notice becomes operative as may be specified therein, such works to that length of road as will eliminate that sudden change.

The provisions of Part XV of this Act with respect to references upon notices served by inspectors shall apply to a notice served under this subsection.

(3) References in this section to changes of gradient shall be construed as including references to deviations (whether upwards or downwards) from the horizontal.