According to SafeWork SA, one of the most common causes of incidents within the automotive industry is being hit by moving vehicles or items of plant.

There have been recent uncontrolled vehicle movement incidents, involving apprentices, that had the potential to have catastrophic consequences.

We feel this is an opportune time to highlight controls to prevent uncontrolled movement of incidents:

1) Ensure that you are in complete control of the vehicle prior to attempting to start the vehicle

- This means that you are sitting wholly in the driver’s seat, focusing on the task you are about to perform. Do not start vehicles from standing outside.

2) Utilise the vehicle mechanics to protect against uncontrolled movement of vehicles

- e.g. application of handbrake and ensuring the vehicle is parked (automatic) or neutral (manual)

3) Adopting safe practices such as turning vehicles off after they have been removed from a hoist, to safely perform other duties such as fitting service stickers where there may be a risk of accidentally knocking a vehicle into gear

4) Being aware of your surroundings

Remember, as a worker, you have a legal responsibility to take reasonable care for your own safety and take reasonable care that your acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons but more importantly, take note of the above so you can go home safely and enjoy the things you like doing outside of work.