Health and Safety Executive

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Transport

What you will find on this page

This page contains information and guidance to help organisers prevent people being injured by site vehicles and traffic on an event site.

Your duties as an event organiser

You are responsible for ensuring that the risks created by transport onsite are managed so that people do not come to harm.

What you should know

Vehicles at work continue to be a major cause of fatal and major injuries. Since 1998/99 there has been an average of 61 fatalities each year as well as over 2150 major injuries and over 4270 injuries requiring the injured person to be off work for more than three days. There are an estimated 1000 work-related road deaths each year.

Checklist – transport dos and don'ts

Do

  • assess the risks from vehicle movements onsite when planning your event
  • keep people and vehicles apart
  • have a traffic management system in place incorporating one-way systems where possible
  • minimise the need for reversing
  • plan for the entry and exit of emergency vehicles
  • plan to complete all tasks involving work vehicles in the public areas of an event before the audience is admitted
  • design the site, where possible, to allow access to toilets, trade areas, waste or skip collection points by trade vehicles and sanitary service vehicles, without passing through areas open to the public
  • consider using alternatives where possible if routes deteriorate, eg due to bad weather, or use hardcore, metal trackways and/or other temporary surfaces like straw or woodchip
  • make sure drivers of work vehicles, banksmen / signallers and traffic marshals are trained and competent
  • have clear site rules and enforce them
  • prepare a traffic management plan that incorporates all of the above

Don't

  • allow people to operate work vehicles unless they are authorised to do so

Find out more

Workplace transport includes information on:

External public transport

External public transport is generally beyond the scope of health and safety law. This is because road traffic laws cover traffic risks in more detail than general health and safety law.

Speak to the police, local highways authority and transport providers about external traffic management around the event location to:

Where appropriate, consult rail authorities and other transport providers about additional public transport services to accommodate the demands of the event.
In certain circumstances, changes to the existing road layout around an event site, parking arrangements or traffic flows will be required to:

In nearly all cases, only the police or someone under their direction can legally undertake traffic regulation on the public highway.

However, in some police force areas (but not in Scotland) a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) may be in operation. Under CSAS, other organisations or companies can direct traffic on a public highway. Check the area police force website for a list of approved organisations.

Find out more

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Updated 2012-03-09