The Health and Safety Executive published its latest quarterly count of work-related fatal injuries on 30 September 2026. It covers deaths reportable under RIDDOR where HSE is the main enforcing authority between April and June.
The quarterly release is an in-year statistical update, not a final annual verdict. It excludes incidents enforced by local authorities or the Office of Rail and Road, and figures can change as investigations establish whether an incident is reportable. It should therefore be used as a prompt for action rather than a league table.
The most recent provisional annual figures show why vehicle movement deserves attention. HSE recorded 126 worker deaths in 2025/26. Twenty-four workers were struck by a moving vehicle, while 18 died after being trapped by something collapsing or overturning. Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 22 worker deaths; transportation and storage accounted for 15.
Those figures cover many different circumstances and do not prove that a particular farm, yard or vehicle is unsafe. They do show that separating people from moving equipment remains a practical priority.
1. Draw the routes before writing the rule
Walk the site while normal work is happening. Mark where tractors, telehandlers, loaders, pickups, vans and visiting HGVs travel, turn, reverse, queue, load and park. Then mark pedestrian routes, entrances, offices, workshops, welfare facilities, fuel points and places where people cross vehicle paths.
Look for blind corners, narrow gateways, poor surfaces, low structures, slopes and areas where stored materials have reduced the available space. Include temporary changes caused by harvest, building work, livestock movements or seasonal storage.
Redesign the route where possible. A one-way system or drive-through loading position can remove repeated reversing more reliably than signs telling drivers to take care.
2. Separate people from vehicles
Paint alone is not segregation where a vehicle can cross it easily. Use separate doors, protected walkways, barriers and defined crossing points where the risk justifies them.
Keep pedestrians out of loading and reversing zones unless their presence is essential. Plan how staff, contractors, visitors, delivery drivers and family members reach reception or the work area without crossing an active yard unexpectedly.
Time can also separate movements. Restrict deliveries during school pick-up, shift changes, livestock handling or other periods when pedestrian activity increases. Where routes must cross, provide good visibility, lighting and a clear priority rule.
3. Give visiting drivers a controlled arrival
A driver arriving for the first time does not know the safest gate, the weakest surface or where a telehandler normally emerges.
Send instructions before arrival: correct entrance, vehicle-size restrictions, booking time, speed limit, reporting point and whether reversing is required. At the gate, make the next action obvious. A sign that simply says “report to office” is inadequate if the route to the office crosses the manoeuvring area.
Nominate who controls loading and unloading. Drivers should know where to wait, when they may leave the cab and who will tell them that work is complete. Avoid informal arrangements in which several people give conflicting signals.
4. Protect the driver's view and controls
Clean, correctly adjusted mirrors and working cameras or proximity aids can improve awareness, but they do not replace a safe layout. Check that windows are clean, lights and warning devices work, and loads or raised booms do not create avoidable blind spots.
Keep the cab orderly. Phones, paperwork, clothing and tools should not obstruct controls, windows, warning displays or the driver's movement. Any screen must be positioned and configured so it does not create a new distraction.
Farm Packs supplies working-vehicle seat covers, but cab protection should be selected around the vehicle's safety equipment-not the other way round.
5. Reduce reversing at source
HSE says nearly a quarter of workplace-transport deaths occur during reversing. Begin by asking whether the manoeuvre can be removed, shortened or completed in a pedestrian-free area.
Where reversing remains necessary, define the reversing zone and keep unnecessary people out. Drivers should stop if they lose sight of a pedestrian or signaller. Never assume that a reversing alarm means somebody has heard it or knows which vehicle is moving.
A banksman must be trained, use agreed signals and remain visible to the driver from a safe position. Some vehicles or industries make a signaller unsuitable because the driver cannot maintain reliable sight of them; the risk assessment must decide the control rather than treating a banksman as the automatic answer.
Use barriers or wheel stops where vehicles reverse towards structures, edges or loading bays. Test the arrangement with the actual vehicle types using the site.
6. Authorise the driver and check the vehicle
Only trained, competent and authorised people should operate workplace vehicles. Match competence to the machine, attachment and task: experience in a pickup does not qualify somebody to operate a telehandler, lift truck or tractor-loader combination.
Pre-use checks should follow the manufacturer's instructions and cover the items relevant to the vehicle, including brakes, steering, tyres, wheel security, lights, mirrors, warning devices, restraints, attachments and fluid leaks. Defects need a written route to somebody with authority to take equipment out of use.
On agricultural vehicles, check that roll-over protection and seat belts are present and used where required. Loads must be stable, trailers need brakes suitable for their maximum load and working speed, and attachments must be compatible, secured and maintained.
Keys should be controlled when vehicles are not in use. Parking should include the appropriate brake, safe position for attachments and measures against unintended movement.
7. Investigate the near miss, not only the collision
A tyre mark beside a doorway, damaged post, reversing alarm complaint or pedestrian forced to step aside is useful evidence. Record near misses and low-level damage before the same layout produces a serious injury.
The report should identify the vehicle, location, task, people present, visibility, lighting, surface and controls in use. Avoid stopping at “driver error”. Ask what made the error possible and whether another competent driver could face the same conditions.
Review the control after a new vehicle arrives, storage changes, a building is altered, seasonal staff start or a delivery route changes. A traffic plan drawn for last winter may not describe today's yard.
Make the check observable
“Take care in the yard” is not a control that can be tested. A useful review produces observable evidence: a route map, physical separation, delivery instructions, authorised-driver records, completed vehicle checks and a defect system that closes the loop.
The latest HSE statistics do not predict where the next fatal incident will occur. They reinforce a long-established lesson: moving vehicles, reversing and overturning remain capable of causing catastrophic harm across agriculture, construction, transport and rural business.
The practical standard is straightforward. People should know where vehicles will move; drivers should know where people may appear; the vehicle should be suitable and maintained; and the layout should remove as much reliance on perfect human attention as possible.
This article provides general information and does not replace a site-specific risk assessment, HSE guidance, manufacturer instructions or competent safety advice.
Sources
HSE/GOV.UK: Fatal injuries arising from accidents at work, April-June 2026 - published 30 September 2026
HSE: Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2025/26 - published 1 July 2026
HSE: Safe workplace transport on farms - guidance current at 1 October 2026
HSE: Safe driving and reversing - guidance current at 1 October 2026
