The Health & Safety Authority (HSA) has issued a new publication on High visibility clothing for use around moving vehicles.
Deirdre Sinnott McFeat, Senior Inspector, Occupational Safety Division at the HSA explains: “Serious injuries or fatalities occur in workplaces because people are struck by vehicles such as cars, vans, trucks or buses or mobile work equipment such as industrial trucks (e.g. forklifts or telehandlers).
The most effective way to reduce the risk of a person being hit by moving vehicles is to have a system of work which effectively keeps pedestrians and vehicles apart. This typically involves keeping people and vehicles physically separate from one another as much as possible. Where people and vehicles cannot be physically separated, other measures will need to be put in place.
Where people must work in areas with moving vehicles or have to work close to moving vehicles, the risk may be further reduced by using high visibility clothing to signal their presence. High visibility clothing is a vital and necessary requirement in any workplace where a significant proportion of the work occurs near, in, on and around moving vehicles. It is also of critical importance for people working at night or in low-light conditions.”