Injuries arising from the movement of vehicles under repair

Working with vehicles every day, it is possible to become complacent about the potentially lethal forces arising from the movement of vehicles while under repair.

For example, serious, and in some cases fatal injuries have occurred where vehicles, which had been left in gear and with their handbrakes off, had been started up from outside the vehicle.

• There was a fatal accident when a mechanic started the engine of a light goods vehicle from outside the vehicle and it started to move because it was in gear and the handbrake was off. He tried reaching into the cab to turn off the ignition but the cab door hit an obstruction and he was crushed between the door and its frame.
• A mechanic working on a car on a four-post lift started the engine from alongside the ramp. The vehicle shot forward off the ramp, hitting a wall and narrowly missing another employee. The vehicle had been left in gear with the handbrake off.

Engines should be started ONLY by someone sitting in the driver's seat, with the handbrake ON and vehicle in neutral gear.

A number of fatal accidents have resulted simply from an unpowered vehicle moving down a slope:

• The brake system on commercial tractor unit was of the failsafe spring applied/air release type. The operative released the brake while the vehicle was not running, but only partial pressure in the system caused brake drag.  The operative went to rear of the vehicle, which was on a slight gradient. It rolled back and fatally crushed him against another lorry.

But the most common cause of fatal accidents in MVR is being crushed beneath a vehicle under repair, typically due to inadequate support.

• Three people were working on a car in a premises when it fell off axle stands. The deceased had been working underneath the car and suffered severe head injuries. He died after the life support machine switched off.
• A MVR mechanic was crushed to death when a car slid off a trolley jack, which was the sole means of support for the vehicle.

Further information

• 'Struck by' accidents in MVR
• Workplace transport safety HSG136 (available from HSE books)