The HSE has issued this safety notice to remind dutyholders who use wheeled loading shovels of the need to fully assess and actively manage the risk of vehicle-pedestrian collisions.
There have been nine fatal vehicle-pedestrian collisions in the past four years involving wheeled loading shovels. Six of these were in the waste and recycling sector while the remainder involved wood chip.
Some were due to poor forward visibility, while others resulted from reversing. Larger capacity buckets had been fitted to some machines, further reducing forward visibility.
This safety notice is to remind dutyholders who use these machines of the need to fully assess and actively manage the risk of vehicle-pedestrian collisions.
Wheeled loading shovels are versatile machines, widely used in the waste and recycling sector. However, driver visibility is affected by various blind spots caused by the bucket (and load), the engine at the rear and the cab pillars. These can significantly reduce the driver’s ability to see pedestrians and, to a lesser extent, other vehicles.
In recent years, fitting larger capacity buckets has become common practice where low-density material is being moved. It allows more to be carried in each load while remaining within the design capacity of the machine. These are available from the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as well as from the aftermarket supply chain.
However, this is likely to make forward visibility worse. Some manufacturers add ‘visibility slots’ or mesh at the top of the buckets to mitigate this problem, but evidence from investigations suggests these are ineffective when the bucket is in the carry position or obscured by the load.
Manufacturers and other specialist suppliers have been developing camera systems for some time to address the forward visibility problems with these vehicles. However, until these are proven and widely available, the only effective control measure currently is strict segregation of vehicles and pedestrians.
If segregation cannot be ensured, larger capacity buckets or wheeled loaders should not be used; instead, alternative work methods should be used, eg different machinery and/or site management arrangements.
The notice sets out action required, centred around:
safer site
safe vehicle
safe driver
site rules.
The notice is available here.
HSE October 2021
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