Transport has been identified as one of eight 'priority programmes' that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) wants to target to improve safety in the workplace.

Failure to operate safe and sound transport sites will not only lead to real accidents, but could result in multi-thousand pound fines.

The HSE has produced the document Preventing Workplace Transport Accidents, to which the Freight transport Association (FTA) has responded by organising a series of safety seminars for the autumn.

The FTA events will provide an update on the consultation process, explain future HSE enforcement policies, and provide a review of industry best practice in health and safety areas.

Rodger Bird, the FTA's Midlands director, said: 'The government has set ambitious targets for improving transport workplace safety and future enforcement will undoubtedly place much more substantial obligations on managers and employers to take all possible steps to avoid accidents. In any event, all of us want to avoid the potential human tragedy of workplace accidents as well as the enormous financial costs of getting things wrong. The FTA seminars will provide the most up-to-date information and the very best in practical advice.'