Pedestrian accidents are not rare. In workplaces where heavy machines are used, such accidents occur regularly. They cause a lot of damage to the company, both material, and labor loss. The industry owners who want to prevent these accidents must choose to pay for the safety solutions if they want to avoid such mishaps. But is the price higher than covering the loss caused by pedestrian accidents? That's exactly what we will discuss in this article today. We have compared the cost of damage caused by pedestrian accidents vs the cost of its prevention. Keep reading to find out!
Pedestrian–forklift interactions are one of the leading causes of warehouse and industrial accidents. Whether in a high-volume UK distribution centre, a rapidly expanding UAE logistics hub, or a large-scale Saudi industrial facility, a single accident can result in serious injury, legal consequences, compensation payouts and loss of productivity.
In this guide, we break down the true cost of accidents vs prevention investments, and explain why proactive safety solutions are not just a compliance requirement—but a smart business decision
Experts say that high damage is caused to the workers and the machines used in the industry. The machines can be repaired at a fixed cost. However, the injuries caused to workers can be costly both in terms of time and money. As per the reports, industries need to incur around $150,000 loss due to pedestrian injuries. Let's dig deeper into the direct and indirect costs!
The costs that are directly associated with pedestrian accidents fall under this category. This includes medical compensation, insurance, emergency costs, and so on. Whenever a worker gets injured in a pedestrian accident, the company is bound to offer these compensations if agreed legally.
Indirect costs cannot be assumed beforehand. They might come immediately as the accident occurs or later over time. Some of the indirect costs include:
• The money was spent on investigating the cause of the mishap.
• If a project gets delayed due to an accident, there can be additional losses.
• There are several legal fees involved if the worker files a case against the company.
• You need to replace the injured or deceased workers with new ones. Training costs will also get added to the list of indirect costs.
• The tools and machines also need to be repaired or replaced.
Repairing the damaged machines can cost a lot, especially heavy, like forklifts. As the industry cannot run without machines or tools, they must be repaired or replaced as soon as possible. Not just the machines but the property can also undergo damage due to these accidents. Repairing all of those can be quite costly!
Whenever any worker gets injured, the industry owner is bound to provide compensation. Some industries also offer compensation to the families of the dead workers. A report reveals that a company might have to compensate $30,000 per injured employee.
Injured workers cannot come to work for days, and hence, the team's productivity gets affected severely. A company can lose up to $200 billion per year owing to reduced productivity. Besides productivity, a lot of time is also wasted. The worker needs ample time to recover; the case investigation requires time, and so does the team to resume working.
As per the HSE regulations, the industry must have ample safety solutions installed to provide a safe working environment. If an accident occurs in your industry and the HSE finds fault from your side, then you will have to pay a fine.
We have already said how you can lose workers if they die in pedestrian accidents. But you can lose staff in other ways as well. For instance, when accidents keep occurring, there will be a time when your employees won't trust you for their safeguard. Nobody wants to work in a place where their safety is not taken seriously. Hence, there are chances that soon other workers will start leaving the company for better opportunities!
Proper training is a must for ensuring that the workers know how to operate the machines. Especially when operators are handling machines like forklifts, they need to know the road rules right. Training employees comes at a price, but it is affordable compared to repairing and replacing machines.
Many accidents occur due to faults in the machine. Hence, make sure that your team checks every part of each machine at least once a week. The parts that must be checked are brakes, seat belt, horn, tires, fluid level, light, etc. If any of these parts need repairing, engineers must be contacted right away.
Accidents will keep occurring if the operator is not using the right Forklift safety solutions while driving. Speed limiters, Forklift cameras, blue spotlight, and anti-collision systems are the best safety solutions that you should install! The anti-collision system and the speed limiter will help the driver control the speed to avoid collisions. The cameras can provide a better view of the surroundings, and the blue light can help you spot blind spots easily.
Ask your team to segregate the workplace as per the job. For instance, don't let manual workers roam around places where operators are driving forklifts. When the workplace is segregated, the employees stay out of risk, and pedestrian injuries decrease greatly. You can easily segregate an area at an affordable price.
After reading through you must have understood by now that preventing pedestrian injuries comes at a far reasonable cost compared to the losses brought by the accidents. The forklift safety solutions might be a bit costly, but they last for many upcoming years. If you do not install the safety solutions on time, you will incur heavy losses each year. To get your hands on the best forklift safety solutions, visit the SharpEagle website. We manufacture the ultimate products to ensure your complete safety. All our products are tested and reviewed by experts. We will also help you with the installation. SharpEagle never backs out from helping their customer even after the product gets sold. So, whenever stuck, we will be there to guide you.
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Yes. Technologies like forklift cameras and proximity alerts significantly reduce blind spots and reaction time, preventing collisions.
No — prevention systems are far more affordable compared to accident-related costs, claims, downtime and penalties.
Yes — most forklift safety technology is designed for retrofit installation regardless of model or age.
While not always compulsory, they support legal compliance frameworks such as HSE (UK), EHS (UAE) and Saudi industrial safety standards.
It depends on layout, traffic flow and risk level. A safety assessment helps identify the right combination of cameras, lights and proximity systems.
