Safe Transportation of Workers

 Safety Regulations for Lorries Ferrying Workers

Lorries cannot be used to transport passengers except for ferrying workers between their lodgings and workplace, if the following requirements are met:

The lorry must not travel faster than the road speed limit, or 60 km/h, whichever is lower.

Lorries used to ferry workers must be fitted with higher side railings and canopies with rain covers installed on all non-enclosed sides.

Higher side railings must be at least 700mm measured from the carriage deck and at least 300mm measured from the top of the side boards.

For light lorries1 , the height of the canopy structure must not exceed 1.35 times the height of the lorry's cabin when measured from the road surface.

For heavy lorries2, the height of the canopy structure must not exceed 3.2m when measured from the road surface (regardless of the height of the lorry's cabin).

All non-enclosed sides of the canopy must be installed with rain covers with at least one side being transparent.

1G-Plate lorries with maximum laden weight not exceeding 3,500 kg

2X or Y Plate lorries with maximum laden weight that exceed 3,500 kg 

Note: The height limits above is to ensure the stability of the vehicle. If the height limits above is exceeded, certification from a Professional Engineer is required. 

Examples of non-enclosed sides of the canopy

Example of a lorry installed with rain covers on all non-enclosed sides of the canopy, with at least one side being transparent.

Rain covers for lorries with rear power tail gate

For lorries with a rear power tailgate covering at least half the height of the canopy, a rain cover is not required to be installed on the rear canopy when it is non-enclosed. The remaining non-enclosed sides (e.g. left and right or front) of the canopy must continue to be installed with an opaque and a transparent rain cover.

Rain cover not required to be installed.

Rain cover must be installed.

The front passenger seat(s) in the lorry's cabin must first be occupied according to the passenger capacity reflected in the vehicle registration details (i.e. log card) before workers can be ferried on the rear carriage deck based on the following requirements:

Workers ferried on the rear carriage deck of lorries must be properly seated under the canopy and in a manner that would not cause them to fall off the vehicle.

No part of the seated worker can be more than 1.1m above the carriage deck.

The lorry must not carry an excess number of workers based on the minimum deck space requirement of 0.372m2 (4 square feet) per seated worker.

If goods or equipment are also transported, the number of workers that can be ferried is reduced according to the remaining floor area available.

Any goods transported must be properly secured so that they will not endanger the workers or other road users.

Determining Maximum Passenger Capacity

When determining the maximum passenger capacity of a lorry's rear carriage deck, the usable deck area should not include the area occupied by permanent fixtures such as toolboxes.

Example

A lorry with a permanent toolbox secured on the rear carriage deck has the following dimensions:

Lorry total deck area = 3.1m (Length) x 1.6m (Width) = 4.96m2

Area occupied by permanent toolbox = 1.6m x 0.65m = 1.04m2

Note: The maximum passenger capacity above is determined based on a lorry with an empty rear carriage deck with full canopy coverage.

Maximum Passenger Capacity (MPC) label

If you use your lorries to carry workers, you must display a Maximum Passenger Capacity (MPC) label on the right side of the lorry's rear tailboard, showing the maximum number of workers that can be transported when the lorry is not carrying any goods.

Lorries registered before 1 January 2010 should continue to display an MPC label with white characters on a black background:

Lorries registered on or after 1 January 2010 should display an MPC label with black characters on a yellow background:

LTA and the Traffic Police may impose fines as well as demerit points for breaches of safety regulations for transporting workers on lorries.

For more information on the measures initiated by the government, please click here.

MOM had also published a set of tripartite advisory to provide practical guidance for the different stakeholders on the safe transportation of workers. Please click here for more information.