How to control workplace reversing and decide on a banksman

Design out reversing where you can. Use one-way routes or drive-through loading if the site permits, and minimise remaining reversing movements. Where a vehicle must reverse, plan and mark the manoeuvre area, keep pedestrians and unnecessary people out, make sure drivers understand the site, and choose controls for the actual vehicle, sightlines and conditions.

A trained signaller or banksman may help in some settings, but HSE cautions that signallers are not permitted in some industries because a driver may not see them safely. If a signaller is used, agree signals, give them a safe position, and require the driver to stop immediately if visual contact is lost. The question is not how many banksmen you need before looking at the layout. HSE’s first preference is to remove reversing and keep pedestrians clear. Mirrors, alarms and cameras can support a safe arrangement but are unlikely to be sufficient individually, and a person in high-visibility clothing standing behind a truck is not automatically a safe control. HSE: safe driving and reversing; HSE: workplace transport introduction.

This page owns the decision about unavoidable reversing and signaller use. A separate guide on changing workplace traffic routes owns reassessment when a whole site route changes. Neither page provides a technical design for a public road, crane lift, railway operation or a vehicle manufacturer’s system. A competent site assessment must specify the actual movement.

Why reversing needs its own assessment

Drivers have restricted sight behind vehicles, and pedestrians can move into a space that looked clear seconds earlier. A large vehicle may have blind spots, swing and overhang that are not obvious to a person on foot. Noise can hide an alarm, darkness or rain can reduce visibility, and a visiting driver may not know where to report or which bay is safe. A reversing movement may also occur at the busiest time, when people are changing shift or deliveries arrive together.

HSE’s reversing factsheet says a substantial share of fatal workplace-transport events occurs during reversing and advises simple precautions starting with eliminating the manoeuvre. That guidance supports prioritising physical layout and segregation before placing a person into the danger area. An assessment that begins and ends with a signaller overlooks the most effective options. HSE: safe driving and reversing.

Map the real operation: vehicle type and size, load, direction of approach, turning space, reversing distance, final position, pedestrian paths, gates, loading activity, uneven ground, overhead or edge hazards, weather, lighting and any route that other vehicles use. Include visitors and contractors who may not know local habits. Watch the movement at a busy time. A tidy plan drawn when the yard is empty may not show where a waiting driver or waste skip blocks the safe route.

Remove or reduce reversing first

Ask whether vehicles can enter and leave forwards. A one-way loop, drive-through bay, changed delivery gate or relocated storage may remove the reversing movement altogether. If elimination is impossible, ask whether the reversing distance or number of turns can be reduced, whether deliveries can be scheduled so pedestrians do not need to cross the area at the same time, and whether a smaller suitable vehicle or changed bay arrangement could reduce the hazard without creating another one.

HSE recommends one-way systems and drive-through loading positions as examples of eliminating reversing, and where reversing remains, routes should minimise it. This does not mean every site can be rebuilt immediately. It means the manager should record why a safer layout is or is not practicable and review that judgement when the site changes. A temporary construction layout may make a previously avoidable manoeuvre unavoidable for a short period, but that should be a controlled change. HSE: safe driving and reversing.

Keep pedestrian routes separate from vehicle routes wherever possible. Put the crossing point where both sides can see one another and prevent people from walking behind a vehicle queued at a bay. HSE describes physical separation as the most effective way to keep pedestrians away from vehicles. Paint alone may not stop someone taking a shortcut through a reversing area, especially if a barrier ends early or the alternative route is impractical. HSE: separating pedestrians and vehicles.

Example: a bay beside a staff entrance

A warehouse uses Bay 2 for articulated deliveries. The driver has to reverse across the pedestrian route from the staff entrance. The manager first considers moving deliveries to a drive-through bay or shifting the staff entrance route. If the movement remains, physical segregation, controlled crossings and a defined reversing period are assessed. Only then does the team decide whether a trained signaller adds value. Assigning a banksman while leaving the busy entrance open would ask one person to compensate for a design conflict.

Design the reversing area before the movement

Plan a marked area with enough room for the vehicle to manoeuvre and stop. Check surfaces, slopes, edges, structures, overhead obstacles, parked vehicles and the position of pedestrians. Keep people who have no role in the manoeuvre outside it. Position barriers or exclusion measures so they do not create a new trap for the driver or other workers. Make the bay and approach obvious before the vehicle arrives.

HSE says reversing areas should be planned and clearly marked, with people not needed there kept well clear. It lists mirrors, improved layout, cameras, alarms, sensing devices and stops as possible supports, while warning that one measure alone is unlikely to ensure safety. A reversing alarm can warn people, but it cannot see a person behind the vehicle. A camera can show one view, but dirt, glare or a badly placed display can limit it. Assess each aid as part of the system, not as a magic substitute for segregation. HSE: safe driving and reversing.

Check how a driver will enter the site. A visiting driver should know where to stop, how to contact reception and which route to use without walking or driving into the active yard. HSE advises giving visiting drivers layout and site-rule information because they may come rarely and for only a short time. A map sent with the delivery booking may help, but signs and on-site instructions must match the current layout. HSE: visiting drivers.

Decide whether a signaller is appropriate

A signaller can help a driver position a vehicle and maintain exclusion when the site assessment supports it. But the signaller is a person exposed to vehicle movement. HSE expressly says signallers are not allowed in some industries because vehicle size and driver visibility make their use unsafe. Do not write a universal rule that every reverse requires a banksman. Check the sector’s requirements, employer rules and whether safer physical controls can remove the need. HSE: safe driving and reversing.

If a signaller is proposed, ask what information the driver lacks, whether the signaller can stand outside the vehicle path and remain visible throughout, and who keeps pedestrians out of the area. One signaller who must simultaneously guide a truck and stop pedestrians from two directions may not be able to perform either role safely. Consider whether communication radios help, but do not treat radio contact as permission for the signaller to stand where the driver cannot see them.

The signaller should be trained for the vehicle and method, use clear agreed signals, be visible and stand in a safe position. HSE says drivers should stop immediately if they lose sight of the signaller. Write that stop rule into the site procedure and brief visiting drivers before the manoeuvre. If two signallers are needed for different views, the assessment must prevent conflicting instructions, so define a single controlling signal and an unambiguous stop command. HSE: safe driving and reversing.

When not to improvise a banksman

A delivery arrives unexpectedly and the trained signaller is absent. A supervisor asks the nearest worker to wave the vehicle into a tight bay. The worker has not been trained, does not know the blind spots and stands behind the truck to see the docking position. The movement should pause until an assessed control is available. If the site can use another bay or postpone unloading, choose that option. A high-visibility vest does not supply competence or a safe position.

Brief the driver and everyone nearby

Before the vehicle moves, the driver should know the intended bay, route, reversing distance, pedestrian exclusion, signals, stop rule and whom to contact if uncertain. If the driver cannot see behind the vehicle and the method requires a check, follow the assessed procedure. HSE says drivers should leave the cab and check behind when they cannot see, provided this can be done safely. The detail will depend on the site and vehicle. HSE: safe driving and reversing.

Tell nearby staff when the reversing area is active and how to use a safe route around it. Delivery operations often involve people on foot approaching the cab, load or bay. Separate that later loading activity from the vehicle movement. Do not allow a warehouse worker to step into the rear area to open a door while the vehicle is still manoeuvring. Decide how the vehicle is secured before anyone approaches it.

Where contractors share the site, make sure their risk assessments and induction use the current traffic plan. A contractor may still hold last month’s drawing or park equipment in the manoeuvre area. If a phase change moves the reversing bay, use the change process in the separate traffic-route guide and rebrief all affected users before the first movement.

Check vehicles and safety aids

Vehicle suitability matters. Mirrors, cameras, lights, alarms, brakes and other safety systems must be maintained in good order. HSE’s workplace transport introduction identifies vehicle condition, including brakes, steering, tyres, lights, mirrors and safety systems, as part of a safe workplace-transport system. A camera that was cleaned last month may be covered in mud today, and a reversing alarm may be inaudible against current site noise. HSE: workplace transport introduction.

Have a way to report and act on defects. If a planned reversing control fails, decide whether the movement can be done safely using another assessed arrangement or whether it must stop. Do not quietly switch from a failed camera to an untrained signaller. Keep the vehicle out of the movement if safe visibility and control cannot be achieved. Record the defect against the vehicle and communicate it to the driver and operator.

Check fixed aids too: barriers displaced by a previous delivery, mirrors struck by plant, markings obscured by pallets and lighting that fails at dusk. The system should work at the time of use, not just during a monthly walk-round. A site design can deteriorate as operations change, so observe real movements and update the plan when controls no longer match practice.

Supervise the first movement after a change

When a bay, vehicle type or route changes, observe the first live manoeuvres. Does the driver approach from the intended direction? Can they find the stop point? Do pedestrians respect the exclusion? Is the signaller visible throughout, if one is used? Does the driver stop when contact is lost? Does a parked vehicle force a wider swing into a pedestrian area? Speak to the driver and people walking nearby, because they may see conflicts that a plan does not show.

If the arrangement does not work, stop and revise it. Do not attribute every deviation to “driver error” without checking signs, space, timing and instructions. A bay that requires a difficult blind-side reverse for most visiting drivers may need redesign or a different delivery method. Record the observation, corrective action and verification. A signed RAMS cannot make an impractical route safe.

An example decision record

For a reversing operation, record the site and bay, vehicle types and typical dimensions, why forward-only movement is not practicable, the reversing route and distance, pedestrian routes and exclusion method, ground, edge and visibility conditions, fixed aids and vehicle aids, whether a signaller is allowed and suitable, the signaller safe position and signals, the lost-contact stop rule, the visiting-driver briefing, the responsible supervisor, the first-use observation, and the change triggers. The form should be proportionate. A simple small-yard movement may need a concise plan, while a busy distribution centre needs more detail and monitoring.

Review triggers include a new vehicle type, damaged barrier, altered pedestrian path, construction phase, near miss, changed delivery volume, different lighting or a complaint that drivers cannot see the signaller. HSE’s workplace-transport guidance frames risk assessment around the site, vehicle and driver. If one of those changes, reconsider the control rather than assuming the original authorisation lasts indefinitely. HSE: workplace transport introduction.

Worked scenario: refuse collection beside a public entrance

A shopping unit’s waste contractor reverses into a service yard near an entrance used by staff and visitors. The landlord and occupiers map the pedestrian route and first ask whether the bin collection point or vehicle path can allow forward movement. If not, they set a defined reversing area and keep the entrance route separate during collection. The driver receives a current site plan. A competent site review decides whether a signaller is appropriate under the waste contractor’s rules or whether barriers and timing provide the safer control. The first collection is observed, and any shortcut behind the vehicle triggers a redesign.

The key is shared control. The waste driver, landlord and nearby occupier must all understand the route and timing. A landlord can mark a bay but cannot rely on visitors reading a vehicle-only sign while a public door opens into the reversing area. Physical layout and supervision must address the actual movement.

Common unsafe assumptions

• “A banksman is required for every reverse.” HSE starts with eliminating reversing and says signallers are unsuitable or disallowed in some industries. Decide from the task and sector.
• “A reversing alarm keeps people clear.” It may warn, but people can be used to it or unable to hear it. Separate people and verify the whole arrangement.
• “The signaller can stand where they see the back of the vehicle.” They must also remain visible to the driver and outside the vehicle’s path. If visibility is lost, stop.
• “The driver knows the site from last year.” Routes, bays and barriers may have changed. Brief visitors on the current layout.
• “A clean yard plan proves the bay works.” Observe it when deliveries, shift change and parking create real constraints.
• “High-vis makes the person safe.” Clothing supports visibility, but it cannot replace a safe position, trained signals or pedestrian exclusion.
• “The camera was fitted, so visibility is solved.” Check camera view, cleanliness, lighting and what remains out of sight. Multiple controls may be needed.

FAQs

Sources

• HSE: safe driving and reversing
• HSE: workplace transport introduction
• HSE: separating pedestrians and vehicles
• HSE: visiting drivers
• HSE: workplace transport inspection checklist

Related: changing workplace traffic routes, managing contractors in shared workplaces, and RAMS explained.

In this series: changing workplace traffic routes.