Reversing accidents go unreported
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• Reversing accidents are 10 times more common than Government statistics suggest, according to research from the University of Huddersfield. The study claims that the majority of reversing accidents go unreported, as between 85-90% occur off the public roads. Department of Transport statistics show that only 2% of commercial vehicle accidents involve reversing. This provides the excuse for successive transport ministers doing nothing about the hazard, says the report. But industry estimates suggest there are 40-50,000 reportable off-road reversing accidents in the UK each year.
Nearly 90,000 vehicles were represented by the survey, which found that just over a quarter of accidents involving CVs happen during reversing manoeuvres. The average cost of such accidents is around £470. It also esti mates that 25% of fatal accidents involving vehicles at work occur during reversing. These are "shocking figures" to which the Government is paying "scant heed", according to one industry source.
Reversing alarms are fitted to 50% of UK CVs, but Health & Safety Executive figures suggest compulsory fitting could reduce reversing fatalities by 41%.