The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, or RoSPA, began life as the London "Safety First" Association in the final days of the First World War, in response to an increase in road traffic accidents caused by the blackout. The National Safety First Association was formed from an integration of other similar organisations developed in other metropolitan areas of Britain. The Association, which aimed to educate at a national level, produced cinema advertisements, posters and safety literature throughout the 1920s and '30s, and during World War II, the association commissioned a series of accident prevention posters which were aimed at factory workers, sanctioned by the Ministry of Labour.

This poster, designed by Tom Eckersley, depicts the rungs of a ladder, through which can be seen a man falling from a tower of boxes. The flat composition stresses the formal qualities of the technique, emphasising the concept of ‘truth to materials'. At the same time the design employs the stylistic language of international Modernism. Eckersley articulated the need for a coherent language of design, based on simplicity and clarity of meaning. During World War II, Eckersley was RoSPA's most productive designer . He would develop ideas whilst working as a cartographer for the RAF, elaborating and refining the composition in his studio each evening.