Councils crackdown on forklift truck deaths

Local councils have reported that on average, one person in Northern Ireland is killed every nine months in an accident involving a forklift truck and that four out of five local businesses using such vehicles are doing so in "blatant disregard" of safety procedures.

Each year, in the United Kingdom as a whole, there are ten fatalities as a result of approximately 8,000 accidents involving forklift trucks.

These are some of the shocking statistics published on Tuesday May 21, in a report arising from a major investigation undertaken earlier this year by environmental health officers from all 26 of Northern Ireland’s district councils.

During a month-long blitz on premises such as DIY outlets, supermarkets and warehouses, which use fork lift trucks on a regular basis, officers found that 80 per cent of the 300 premises inspected were operating the vehicles incorrectly – and sometimes in blatant disregard of proper procedures.

Breaches observed by inspectors included: pillion passengers riding on the ‘forks’ of the truck; trucks operating in public places with poor attention to public safety; and keys left in unattended trucks. Inspectors also reported that many of the 428 trucks inspected had not undergone regular inspections or safety checks, as required by law.

“Many accidents are the result of bad practices, poor design and layout of premises, badly maintained trucks and insufficient training for operators,” commented Suzanne Wylie, Belfast City Council’s Divisional Environmental Health Manager with responsibility for Health and Safety.

“To minimize the potential for accidents, only trained and authorized drivers should use forklift trucks and the truck operations should be well planned and supervised, particularly to make sure that pedestrians are not put at risk. The trucks themselves must also be well maintained and inspected regularly by a competent person,” stated Ms Wylie.

As a result of the campaign, which was supported by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), advice was given to many of the premises concerned, regarding procedures for the safe operation of forklift trucks. Enforcement notices, requiring improvements in safety standards and procedures, also were issued to 32 of the premises involved.

During February and March of this year, environmental health officers from Northern Ireland’s 26 district councils visited a total of 299 premises and inspected 428 fork lift trucks.

(SP)