The campaign features Stanley the talking safety cone providing advice on serious workplace hazards including roll-away vehicles.

It highlights the devastating consequences of roll‑away vehicle incidents and reminds workers and employers to Avoid a mistake, engage the brake

While roll‑away vehicle incidents occur less frequently than some other workplace hazards, the consequences are often catastrophic.

Between 2020 and 2025, SafeWork SA received 42 notifications involving roll‑away vehicles, including:

• 4 fatalities
• 17 serious injuries

• 13 incidents involving significant property damage

A roll‑away vehicle incident involves the unintentional movement of a vehicle because it has not been safely immobilised. Roll‑aways can occur with any type of mobile plant, including cars, forklifts, trucks, tractors, trailers, passenger vehicles and heavy machinery. They can happen on worksites, in car parks and maintenance yards, or when vehicles are parked on the side of the road.

Recent examples of roll-away vehicle incidents include:

• A bus rolled down a slight incline before running over and seriously injuring its driver in the Barossa Valley in 2025.  The driver stopped and left the bus. She was inspecting it when it rolled about 10 metres down an incline, knocking her down and rolling over her.
• A South Australian farmer sustained critical injuries and later died after being crushed by a tractor in 2024. The farmer was repairing the tractor when it began rolling forward. He attempted to jump onto the tractor to stop it rolling and was run over by the rear wheel.
• An unoccupied truck rolled about 200 metres before crashing into a building in the Adelaide Hills. The 2023 incident resulted in damage to two businesses.

SafeWork SA has taken active steps to manage the risks associated with roll‑away vehicles, including developing a vehicle roll‑away fact sheet in 2023 with Safe Work Australia, and contributing to the Workplace Road Safety Guide, published by the State Government in November 2024.

SafeWork SA is reminding workers to:

• ensure the vehicle’s park brake is fully engaged
• turn wheels and leave the vehicle in gear where appropriate
• use wheel chocks when required
• never attempt to re‑enter a vehicle once it has started to roll
• follow all training, instructions and safe‑work procedures

Employers are being urged to:

• ensure vehicles are regularly inspected and maintained
• consider installing park brake alarm systems
• adopt safety management systems that address vehicle immobilisation, maintenance and working around vehicles
• ensure workers are appropriately licensed, trained and informed

Attribute to SafeWork SA Executive Director Glenn Farrell

This campaign is about reminding South Australians that safety decisions matter.

Roll‑away vehicles continue to pose a serious risk across a range of industries including automotive, construction, transport, agriculture, manufacturing and mining.

These incidents happen quickly and often without warning, but in many cases they are preventable.

Something as simple as failing to properly engage a park brake can lead to a worker being crushed, trapped or run over.

That’s why our message is clear – avoid a mistake, engage the brake – and take safety seriously every time.

Media enquiries

SafeWork SA media team: 0466 504 507 or media.safework@sa.gov.au