Body stressing injuries as a result of performing manual tasks is highest cause of injury in transport workers.

Common hazardous manual tasks in the transport industry include prolonged sitting and whole-body vibration while seated, accessing and egressing cabs, access to tray and cargo area, loading and unloading loads, securing loads, product packaging and containing products. 

Occupations at greatest risk depend on the subsectors.  They include occupations such as truck drivers, aircraft baggage handlers, airline ground crew, waterside workers and forklift drivers. 

Workers in the road transport sub-sector have been shown to be at high risk of obtaining body stressing injuries.

Please refer to the ‘Common hazardous manual tasks’ section of this website for more detailed information about relevant manual tasks such as handling heavy, bulky and awkward loads, handling trolleys, drum handling and stacking shelves.

Industry specific references

WorkSafe Victoria, 2001, Safety by design, Eliminating manual handling injuries in road transport