The UK's largest general insurer is urging employers to provide adequate training and supervision for new and experienced forklift drivers.

With the Health and Safety Executive reporting 8,000 accidents in the UK involving forklifts and around 10 fatalities each year, Aviva is continuing its Simply Safety campaign for the third year, kick-starting 2010 with advice to businesses on the dangers of driving forklifts.

Aviva liability risk manager Phil Grace says almost 25% of all workplace transport incidents in the UK involve forklifts.

"The most common accidents include people being hit or run over by a forklift, being hit by unstable items falling from the vehicle or suffering crush injury accidents, and drivers being injured by falling from the forklift or when it overturns," Grace says.

He emphasises the importance of checking the amount of experience a potential employee has and advises employers to always ask for proof of training.

If an employee cannot produce written proof, they "should be able to refer to the training scheme they undertook". Therefore, employers who are in doubt can perform checks to avoid accepting fraudulent proof of training.

Grace adds that regardless of experience, all new employees should be given induction training.

"The same should happen if a business is hiring a new vehicle on a temporary basis or changing forklift manufacturer. No two machines operate in exactly the same way, especially if the make or model of machine is different."

Grace also recommends that refresher training be given to all employees every three to five years. Those who drive daily will need to "maintain good driving habits" while those who drive less often will need to "maintain familiarity with the vehicle".

There have recently been prosecutions in the UK involving mobile equipment that resulted from lack of training or poor supervision. One incident involved a forklift driver in West Lothian who was found guilty of breaching section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work act 1974 and fined GBP500. (USD768.70) He had provided his employers with evidence of his training and experience, which was found to be partially fraudulent. His lack of vehicle knowledge led to him operating a forklift without the stabilisers deployed, which caused the machine to lose its three-tonne load, crushing and seriously injuring a workmate nearby.

"Employers or managers have a duty to ensure that workers are fit and competent to operate their vehicles, and machines and attachments are maintained correctly," Grace says.

"By law, employers and supervisors must understand their workplace hazards and risks and take steps to eliminate or reduce them. It is also important that supervisors accept responsibility to communicate to employees any identified hazards and necessary measures to control them," he continues.

Aviva claims to be the world's fifth largest insurance group, serving 50 million customers in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific. It provides life, pensions, investment, general insurance and health products to over 20 million customers in the UK.