HSE to Launch Education Campaign for Safe Loading Practices
Recent surprise checks of vehicles in England and Wales have revealed that more than 75% of the vehicle loads were unsafe, thus putting in danger both the loading staff and motorists on the roads.
During a span of three days HSE (Health and Safety Executive) and VOSA (Vehicle Operator Services Agency) officials stopped around 40 vehicles in Birmingham, Humberside and Wrexham. More checks are now being planned due to the unacceptably high percentage of vehicles with unsafe loads.
A large number of vehicles required immediate measures to be taken to ensure that further travelling was safe, and most drivers were able to find and implement solutions in just a few minutes. The HSE saw this as an encouraging sign and to provide information regarding proper loading of cargo, it has now decided to initiate a campaign in the second half of the year.
Head of Injury Reduction at HSE, Marcia Davies said that most of the manual handling injuries and accidents occur because of shifting of loads during transit. Around 15 people have been killed, and about 2,000 people have been injured during the last three years due to cargo not being loaded properly.
FTA (Freight Transport Association) representative, Jo Tanner, also showed his concern for the number of people dying and getting injured due to unsafe loading. He said that with proper handling, such accidents can be prevented quite easily, and that the FTA supported the work of HSE and VOSA to improve loading practices in the industry.
Now more than ever all employers especially in potentially dangerous businesses such as construction must be fully aware of health and safety issues and train their staff thoroughly to avoid the serious potential consequences. Contact Workplace Law Training to find out about their range of nebosh courses which will help to assist your management and staff in all health and safety issues.
