When you plan a traffic route, your risk assessment should include answers to these
questions:
• Where does the traffic route go?
• What potential hazards are on the route?
• Is the road surface suitable for the load?
• Does the route slope?
Hazards
Hazards along a route may include:
• bends
• junctions
• fuel or chemical tanks or pipes
• gates or barriers
• overhead electricity cables
• any unprotected edge from
which vehicles could fall, or where they could become
unstable, such as unfenced
edges of elevated weighbridges, loading bays or excavations
• anything that might collapse or be left in a dangerous condition if a vehicle
hits it
• anything that might catch on or dislodge a load
To avoid these hazards:
• Minimise road and route junctions
• Provide clear signed warning of any height or width restriction – both in
advance and at the obstruction itself
• Protect dangerous obstructions with goalposts, height gauge posts or barriers
• If gates or barriers are to stay open, secure them in position
Route Gradient
A steep gradient can affect:
• the driver's ability to handle the vehicle (especially if the surface is slippery)
• how easily spills can be contained
• how easy it is to manage wheeled objects such as waste containers, roll cages
or pallet handlers.
Some vehicles can become unstable on slopes. Examples include:
• some lift trucks
• raised-tipper lorries
• raised-body tankers involved in
transferring powder or bulk solids
• vehicles with a trailer containing
liquids (such as a bowser or a
slurry tanker), but without effective baffles to stop the liquid
surging around.
For road tanker loading and unloading, a maximum gradient of 1 in 30 is
recommended to make sure the vehicle moves as little as possible, and help to
contain any spillages.
Steep slopes can also make loads less stable, especially if the loads are stacked or if they are unstable anyway (for example, wire coils or reels, barrels). Take care that loads moved on slopes cannot move dangerously.
Even where vehicles can safely use sloping surfaces, avoid slopes steeper than 1 in 10.
©2010