Workplace transport safety An employers' guide - ARRI Lighting Rental

Health and Safety
Executive
998 If driving down a slope cannot be avoided, drivers should try to drive carefully
down the shallowest part of the slope. It may be better to drive forward down the
slope rather than diagonally, to keep the sideways stability of the vehicle.
999 In particular, do not turn down a slope while you are
on it.
1000 Remember that vehicles are often more stable going uphill than downhill.
Being safe to drive up a slope does not mean it will be safe to drive down it.
1001 Keep away from banks, ditches, pits and kerbs, especially when turning.
1002 Site operators and employers should check that workers are wearing seat
restraints, and are not taking risks that might cause vehicles to overturn. Where
seat restraints are fitted, they should usually be worn at all times. An exception
might be warehouse lift truck operators picking orders in a warehouse (or similar
work), where the surface is good, the vehicles move slowly, and workers need to
get in and out of the vehicle frequently. A risk assessment should identify whether
risks are low enough for seat restraints not to be worn.
1003 Only drivers trained to recognise and avoid a risk of overturning should be
allowed to use vehicles.
1004 Site operators and employers should make sure that proper information is
available on where and how seat restraints and other safety equipment should be
used. This could include signs on safety areas and vehicles, clear floor markings
and adequate training.
1005 In many situations, the driver restraint is simply to prevent the driver from
trying to jump off an overturning vehicle and being crushed by the ROPS or FOPS
(falling object protection system). If a vehicle begins to topple over, the driver should
brace themselves against the back of the driver’s seat and hold firmly onto a secure
part inside the cab. The driver should never try to jump out of a vehicle that is falling
over.
1006 An ROPS on some kinds of vehicle can reduce the risk of injury if it
overturns, but is not fully effective unless the driver is also wearing an appropriate
restraint (for example, a seat belt). Drivers have been killed when a vehicle with a
roll cage overturned, because they were not wearing the restraint provided.
1007 Drivers should be trained to follow safety procedures, wear proper restraints
for their safety, and spot dangers and avoid them.
1008 If an employer has taken reasonable steps to monitor and enforce the
wearing of restraints where they are appropriate, drivers who do not wear the
restraint (or who carry passengers who do not do so) could be prosecuted.
Workplace transport safety Page 118 of 144