Trailers & Challenges

Worksafe NZ have released a media statement regarding Ultimate Design and Renovation Limited, which was involved in a trailer separating from the towing vehicle which ended up killing another road user.

There were a number of basic things that contributed to this event.

• Fit for purpose towing vehicle

• Locking handle on trailer was not engaged

• Safety chain was not used

• No evidence to support operator competency

• No evidence to support trailer / vehicle checks

WorkSafe commented that “It’s not enough to just have your workers sign a vehicle policy. Businesses need to ensure drivers are competent to safely use a vehicle, especially one that is being towed.”

This is a good reminder for all of us to review that we are making smart decisions regarding our vehicles and that we are capturing the evidence to support that.

A few of you, at times, tow substantial loads. This places a lot of wear and tear on your equipment, especially when we consider the quality of our roads. How are the wheel bearings? Springs? Coupling quality? Tyre quality? Towing capacity? Load distribution?

Lastly, how are you managing driver fatigue?

If you have any questions, want ideas to manage these risks, need templates, training solutions, etc – please reach out. It’s what we do.