Although many businesses may regard their obligations with regard to health and safety to be onerous – such as undertaking a comprehensive assessment of all the possible risks to health and safety within their business premises, and working out a clear health and safety policy for the business – the potential damage that can be caused to a business should they fail to undertake these procedures and then experience an accident on their business premises, is far greater. In these circumstances, a business would be liable for personal injury claims to be made against them in the form of an accident at work compensation claim by the employee who suffered the injury or illness and, if they have not completed the correct procedures, the business will not have an insurance policy from a reputable provider. Therefore it does not make sense to ignore the risks of workplace accidents, such as driving accidents.
There are some types of workplace where driving accidents are particularly prevalent – such as warehouses, where heavy goods vehicles are employed frequently within a confined area – but they can occur in pretty much any working environment that requires employees to come and go using cars or other motor vehicles. This means almost every business that you could possibly think of, making it a health and safety issue that few employers can afford to disregard completely when assessing the possible risks. Common types of traffic accidents at work include employees being hit by a moving vehicle – either a car, or a heavy goods vehicle – either an employee or heavy materials falling from one, or a vehicle accidentally overturning. The results of these accidents can range from minor cuts and bruises to serious head injuries or broken bones.
Employers should look to make sure that areas that are intended for the passage of vehicles are kept clear at all times and are of sufficient width to allow vehicles to negotiate them without problems. Furthermore these should be clearly labelled as vehicle routes, with routes for pedestrians labelled separately.
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