The Pedestrian on the Blind Corner
You are driving a 3 tonne diesel counterbalance truck along a marked internal roadway in a busy distribution yard. The route passes a warehouse corner where racking blocks your view for about 8 metres. There is a pedestrian walkway marked in yellow, but staff routinely cut across the roadway at the corner to reach the canteen. Your load is a tall stack of empty pallets that restricts forward visibility; site rules allow travel with a restricted-view load only if you reverse. You are already 10 minutes behind schedule and the supervisor is asking for the load at the loading bay. As you approach the corner at about 8 km/h, a worker steps out from behind the racking about 6 metres ahead.
1. Identify the hazards present and explain what the operator should have done before reaching the corner.
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Hazards:
- Restricted forward visibility from the tall pallet stack.
- Blind corner - 8 m of obscured sightline.
- Pedestrians using the roadway despite the marked walkway (a foreseeable breach).
- Speed inappropriate for the visibility available (8 km/h with 6 m sightline is too fast to stop).
- Schedule pressure influencing behaviour.
What should have been done before the corner:
- Reverse travel where forward view is restricted, as the site rule permits - this restores visibility.
- Slow to a crawl and use the horn at the blind corner.
- Sound the horn and make eye contact/acknowledge pedestrians.
- Keep the load low (pallets should be carried low, mast tilted back) to maintain stability and sightlines.
- Use a banksman if visibility cannot be achieved.
- Stop and reassess if pedestrians are in the roadway rather than pressing on.
Schedule pressure is never a justification for reduced visibility or speed - the operator controls the truck.
2. At the moment the worker appears 6 m ahead, what is the correct immediate response and what should happen afterwards?
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Immediate response:
- Brake firmly and stop - do not swerve; swerving a laden counterbalance truck risks a tip.
- Sound the horn to warn the pedestrian and anyone else nearby.
- Keep the load low and the mast tilted back so a sudden stop does not throw the load forward.
- Do not move off until the pedestrian is clear and has acknowledged you.
Afterwards:
- Report the near miss to the supervisor and in the site accident book - near misses are reportable internally even when no one is hurt.
- Raise the walkway breach - pedestrians cutting the corner is a site traffic management failure that needs a physical fix (barriers, mirrors, crossing point), not just a reminder.
- Review the route - if the load restricts view, the route or method should change (reverse travel, different load presentation, or a banksman).
- Reflect on speed - approach speed should allow stopping within the distance you can see to be clear.