A walkaround of a new van, a pickup ready for work or a machine completing a job can make useful business content. Customers get to see your equipment, understand your service and meet the people behind it. The filming, however, needs planning just as the job itself does.
A prosecution reported by HSE on 15 October 2026 shows why. An employee of Superhub Ltd suffered serious head and brain injuries after falling from a moving car while filming an electric motorbike in Paignton on 14 May 2021.
The planned drone filming had finished when additional footage was proposed. The employee filmed from the car’s boot; its liner slipped as the vehicle moved. Investigators found no risk assessment for the activity and no suitable provision to secure the employee or equipment. The company was fined £45,000, and its director received a suspended prison sentence at Exeter Crown Court on 14 October 2026.
The recent development is the court outcome, not a new accident. For businesses making their own videos, it is a timely reason to decide how filming will happen before anyone picks up a camera.
Choose the message before the moving shot
Start with what the customer needs to learn. If the purpose is to show storage, cab condition, branding or equipment features, a safely parked vehicle will often tell the story perfectly well.
Make a short shot list: an exterior view, the relevant detail and a brief explanation. That is usually more useful than collecting dramatic footage and trying to invent a message afterwards.
For example, a fencing contractor could show tools secured for transport, the finished fence and a short explanation of the service. None of those shots requires a camera operator riding in a load bed.
For Farm Packs customers sharing their working vehicles, a parked cab walkaround is also a straightforward way to show an interior. Photograph the actual arrangement clearly rather than asking someone to adjust accessories while the vehicle moves.
Treat filming as a separate task
A familiar yard does not automatically make an unfamiliar activity safe. A colleague concentrating on a phone screen may stand somewhere they would never choose during normal loading.
HSE’s workplace transport risk-assessment guidance says to consider the site, vehicle and people involved, including visiting drivers and less frequent tasks. Apply that thinking to the filming session.
Check what else will happen nearby: deliveries, reversing, loading, visitors or employees crossing the area. Identify who could enter the shot or vehicle route unexpectedly.
Agree where filming can take place and what work must pause. If the activity cannot be separated safely from normal operations, choose another location or time. A quieter background may improve the video as well as make the arrangements easier to manage.
Keep people in proper travelling positions
A pickup bed, van load area or open boot should not become an improvised camera platform.
HSE’s safe-driver guidance says passengers should only travel where the vehicle is designed to accommodate them safely, with appropriate seating and restraints. It also says nobody should climb onto a moving vehicle.
Do not ask someone to perch on equipment, lean out to improve the angle or rely on a load strap as a makeshift personal restraint. For ordinary business content, change the shot instead.
When filming a parked vehicle, use the access steps and handholds provided. Keep walking surfaces clear, and do not climb onto bumpers or other parts that were not designed to support a person.
Let the driver concentrate on driving
An operator explaining a machine while using it may look natural on screen, but answering questions and performing repeated takes adds demands to the task.
HSE’s vehicle-filming guidance recommends limiting driver commentary and using voiceover where appropriate. It also highlights the need to secure recording equipment without compromising vehicle safety features.
A practical alternative is to record the explanation afterwards beside the parked vehicle. The viewer can hear the operator while seeing separately captured detail.
Do not treat a phone holder or small action camera as proof that an arrangement is suitable. Check the mounting and location, and do not ask the driver to change settings while moving. More complex filming needs competent specialist planning, not trial and error.
Make a changed shot a reason to pause
The most useful rule for a small team may be the simplest: a new idea does not automatically belong in the agreed plan.
Nominate someone to coordinate the filming and make it clear that anyone can call a stop. Before starting, agree:
- Where each person will stand.
- Which vehicles, if any, will move.
- How the team will communicate.
- What will cause filming to stop.
- Who will confirm it is safe to resume.
If somebody suggests a different route, camera position or vehicle, pause and reassess. HSE advises reviewing risks before significant changes to the work. The fact that the previous take went well does not establish that the next arrangement is safe.
Buy specialist help for specialist footage
If a moving tracking shot is genuinely important, explain the desired result to a competent filming contractor rather than specifying an improvised method.
Ask how they will assess the location, protect people, coordinate with the site and use suitable equipment. HSE’s filming information sheet covers specialist vehicle arrangements and notes that road-traffic requirements can apply beyond public roads.
Do not assume hiring a videographer settles every safety question. Agree responsibilities and arrangements before the day, and make sure the filming team understands the business’s normal site controls.
For a small campaign, compare that cost with a simpler film. Clear pictures, useful information and believable people can communicate more than an elaborate moving sequence.
Finish with a usable and repeatable plan
Keep a brief record of the shots that worked, the safe locations and any problems encountered. That gives the next person a starting point without encouraging them to copy an unsuitable setup.
Review the finished footage before publication. Does it show the intended service clearly? Does it accidentally present an unsafe shortcut as normal practice? Could a parked demonstration explain the same point better next time?
The lesson is not to stop showing customers your vehicles and work. It is to make filming a planned part of the business. Start with a simple message, choose the least complicated safe method and stop when the proposed shot goes beyond the agreed arrangements.
General information only. Use a task-specific risk assessment, current official guidance and competent advice for specialist filming.
Sources
HSE — Media company fined and director sentenced after employee suffers life-changing injuries during filming — published 15 October 2026; sentencing 14 October 2026.
HSE — Safe filming and recording in, from and around vehicles, ETIS22 — publication marking September 2017; checked 16 October 2026.
HSE — Safe drivers — updated 13 December 2021; checked 16 October 2026.
HSE — Workplace transport risk assessment — page dated 15 April 2025; checked 16 October 2026.
