Safety Advice – Floors & Traffic Routes

Category: Health & Safety, News

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 cover a wide range of basic health, safety and welfare issues and apply to most workplaces. One area of importance is providing a safe ‘traffic route’.

‘Traffic route’ means a route for pedestrian traffic, vehicles or both, and includes any stairs, fixed ladder, doorway, gateway, loading bay or ramp. The Health & Safety Executive offer the following advice:

• Try to keep vehicles and people apart by ensuring they use entirely seperate routes to enable them to move safely.
• If they share a traffic route, use kerbs, barriers or clear markings to designate a safe walkway and if pedestrians need to cross a vehicle route, provide clearly marked crossing points.
• Plan traffic routes where drivers do not need to reverse by using one-way systems and drive-through loading bays.
• Set speed limits and provide route markings and signs so that drivers and pedestrians know where to go and what rules apply to their route.
• Loading bays should include a refuge to avoid people being struck or crushed by vehicles.
• Floors and traffic routes should be sound and strong enough for loads placed on them and the traffic expected to use them. Surfaces should not have holes or be uneven or slippery. Maintenance systems should be developed to undertake repair when necessary.
• Handrails should be provided on at least one side of every staircase.

More information can be obtained from the Health & Safety Executive website.

Call Refix to discuss your traffic route requirements, repairs/updates to existing systems or any other issues.