Member of road striping crew struck by semi.
Authors
Nebraska Department of Labor
Source
Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 99NE021, 1999 Nov; :1-5
Abstract
A 56-year-old senior highway maintenance worker, was killed when the vehicle he was operating was struck from the rear by a semi on an interstate highway. The victim was driving the trail vehicle of a three vehicle highway striping crew. The striping operation was traveling down the interstate at 18 miles per hour. A semi was traveling in the same lane as the trail vehicle and came up on it at an estimated 75-80 mph. The driver of the semi hit his brakes and skidded for approximately 1.7 seconds before impacting the victim's vehicle. The trail vehicle was thrown into the median and rolled once. The driver was killed instantly. The Nebraska Department of Labor Investigator concluded that to prevent future similar occurrences employers should: 1. ensure for mobile striping operations, on a multilane road, that the rear vehicle be equipped with a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) and that it travels on the shoulder if possible. 2. ensure vehicle operators and occupants always use vehicle restraint systems. 3. consider using a combination of white, orange, or blue strobe lights mounted on all vehicles in the striping operation. 4. consider using a more durable method of striping than painting, such as heat inlaid tape, thermo plastic striping, or tape laid in grooves in the pavement, that would decrease worker exposure to hazards. 5. include in training for mobile operations the need to constantly scan rear view mirrors for fast approaching traffic and procedures to avoid collision.
Keywords
Region-7; Accident-analysis; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Traumatic-injuries; Work-operations; Work-analysis; Work-areas; Work-performance; Work-practices; Safety-education; Safety-equipment; Safety-measures; Safety-monitoring; Protective-measures; Safety-programs; Maintenance-workers; Training; Road-construction; Road-surfacing; Drivers; Truck-drivers
Document Type
Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation
Funding Type
Cooperative Agreement
NTIS Accession No.
PB2010-115330
Identifying No.
FACE-99NE021; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-709864
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Performing Organization
Nebraska Department of Labor
