Alfreton, Derbyshire, UK: British food and drink distributor NFT participated in an initiative to educate health and safety professionals from within the food and drink industry about the challenges and hazards faced by truck drivers.
The training session run by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health involved 80 delegates seeing safety presentations followed by observing a range of practical demonstrations using stationary vehicles parked in different scenarios, such as a good side manoeuvre and a blind side reverse.
The aim was to clearly show a driver’s view so delegates also had the chance to sit in the driver’s cab and observe their perspective, for example, how wide a blind spot area can be.
NFT was one of four hauliers to loan a vehicle for use in the demonstrations. Neil Fairbrother, National Health & Safety Manager at NFT said “I am a member of two IOSH industry groups, Retail & Distribution and Food & Drink, and was only too happy to get involved.
“This was a great opportunity for NFT to engage with other operators and co-ordinate with IOSH and I feel we delivered a really informative and valuable day for the delegates.
Neil Catton, chair of Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s Food and Drink Group said: “Giving people the theory and practical demonstrations of how it all works has really made today’s road safety message come alive.
“The statistics of work-related RTAs [road traffic accidents] show us that currently, we haven’t hit on the golden formula that leaves company drivers better equipped to deal with driving risks.
“That is why we are calling for all work-related RTAs to be included in RIDDOR [Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995] statistics. After all, the more information we have about the incidents, the more we will be able to find common causes of accidents, which will help to determine the best ways of dealing with work-related RTAs.”
