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Do Transport Operators Have a Legal Duty to Test Floor Grip?
Transport operators have a general legal duty to manage risks to the people who use their premises, so far as is reasonably practicable. As far as we know, that duty does not name a specific frequency for floor grip testing. But testing is one of the clearest ways to show that you have taken reasonable steps, and it is the evidence that is likely to matter if a slip is ever questioned. This is general information, not legal advice, so check what applies to your operation.
The short why
The duty is not to prevent every accident. It is to take reasonably practicable steps to manage the risk. When a slip happens, the question that follows is what you knew about the floor and what you did about it. Measured grip data answers that question. A floor that looks clean does not.
What does “reasonably practicable” mean for floors?
It means weighing the risk against the effort needed to reduce it, and acting proportionately. At a busy station or airport, the risk is high: heavy footfall, wet weather and large areas of hard flooring. That makes it harder to argue that doing nothing beyond cleaning and signage is proportionate.
There is also a useful reference point. HSE guidance and case law treat a Pendulum Test Value (PTV) of 36 or above as low slip potential. Below that, risk rises as the number falls. This gives operators something concrete to measure against, rather than a matter of opinion.
Why isn’t “it looks clean” enough?
This is the belief worth challenging directly. A floor that looks clean is not necessarily a floor that is safe. Grip is invisible, and a concourse can look spotless and still have poor slip resistance, particularly where years of footfall have worn the surface smooth.
Signage has the same weakness. A sign warns people that a hazard exists. It does not remove it. In one prosecution brought by Cornwall Council after a fatal slip in a supermarket, the council said that signage alone is not an adequate control. Proactive measures were needed to stop floors becoming slippery or to prevent public access. That is a retail case, but the principle is relevant to any operator relying on signs and cleaning as the whole answer.
How can testing help if a claim is made?
The pendulum test is the method preferred by the HSE and relied on in UK slip litigation. Its output, a PTV, is the number that is likely to be critical if a claim is brought or investigated.
David Scott, an insurance claims lawyer who appeared on our podcast, made a point that surprises many people. Even if a floor was wet, and someone slipped and was genuinely hurt, a successful claim is not inevitable. His view was that if you have compliant slip test data, you should expect to defend that claim. That is one lawyer’s view rather than a guarantee, and every case turns on its own facts. But it shows why documented grip evidence matters.
Without a measurement, you are relying on opinion about how the floor was performing on the day.
What does the evidence need to show?
Using the CHIMES framework, a defensible approach looks at more than the floor alone. It covers contamination, footwear, who is exposed, maintenance, the environment and the surface. In practice, good evidence usually includes:
- Dated PTV readings for the highest-risk zones, wet as well as dry
- A record of what was done where a reading fell short
- A schedule for re-testing, since grip changes with wear, cleaning and footfall
- Consistent standards across every site in the estate
A single test from refurbishment says little about how a concourse performs today. Slip Safety Services has found that organisations who measure, improve and keep proving the result see a 57%+ average reduction in slip incidents. The records matter because they show the work was ongoing.
What to do about it
Identify the zones at each site that are most likely to be wet or contaminated: entrances, ticket halls, wet routes from platforms and taxi ranks, food outlets, toilets and surface transitions. Find out when each was last tested, and whether the reading was taken wet and dry. Where there is no recent, dated reading, treat that as the first gap to close.
Then speak to your legal or compliance adviser about what applies to your specific operation. This article cannot tell you that, and it is worth knowing before an incident rather than after one.
Next step
If you are not sure how well your sites would stand up to scrutiny today, the Slip Prevention Scorecard takes a few minutes per site and gives you a clear starting point. For the fuller method behind measuring, improving and proving floor grip, Slipology by Christian Harris covers the process in depth.
Related questions
- Can you defend a slip claim?
- What evidence do you need to defend a slip claim?
- What does HSE say about slips?
- How is slip risk managed at busy transport hubs?