Improving truck safety with virtual reality

Each year, there are 4,500 general workplace injuries in transport, affecting one in every 30 transport workers, with one in every 60 transport workers suffering a serious injury.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is committed to working with the transport industry to reduce these injuries – and the latest tool being used to target safety improvements is virtual reality (VR). On display at this year's Brisbane Truck Show, virtual reality was used to demonstrate risk management requirements for transport businesses, particularly for keeping drivers safe.

VR technology is emerging as a very engaging method to facilitate safety learning through practical experience. Experiential practical applications allow the user to learn from a first-person perspective. Participants move through the scenario and interact with the environment, while the program highlights the dangers that can occur on worksites. At the Truck Show users were immersed in a virtual work scenario and asked to identify and classify hazards on and around the truck, determine the risks and select controls to manage them.

Further information

For guides on vehicle safety visit www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/transport