Extra rider on garbage truck is killed when he falls under truck.
Authors
Iowa Department of Public Health
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 01IA001, 2002 Mar; :1-5
Abstract
A 19-year-old man was killed while riding on the back of a garbage truck. The driver and his helper were collecting garbage on their normal route through a residential mobile home park. The victim was a relative of the helper, and was allowed by the driver and helper to ride along. He was not employed by the waste collection company, but was simply volunteering to help his friends on their normal pick-up route. This was against company safety rules, and company management was not aware of this arrangement. While moving from one residence to the next, the helper was standing and riding at his normal working position on the right rear side of the truck. Before the incident occurred, the victim was standing on the kicker bar at the rear of the truck, out of sight from the driver. While backing up to turn around, the victim slipped off the kicker bar and hit his head as he fell, knocking himself unconscious. The helper immediately yelled for the driver to stop, but not before the man had been run over by the dual tires of the truck, which killed him instantly. Both the driver and his helper were fired from their positions. Recommendations based on our investigation are as follows: 1. Drivers of waste collection trucks should follow safety rules regarding extra riders. 2. No individual should ride on the rear of a garbage truck while it is backing up. Also, helpers must assist drivers when backing up. 3. Employers should provide adequate training and enforcement to avoid extra riders on garbage trucks. 4. Manufacturers of garbage trucks and waste collection companies should consider using technologies to improve visibility to the back of the garbage truck.
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; Training; Drivers; Truck-drivers; Waste-disposal; Waste-disposal-systems
Document Type
Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation
Funding Type
Cooperative Agreement
NTIS Accession No.
PB2007-107896
Identifying No.
FACE-01IA001; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-708674
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Performing Organization
Iowa Department of Public Health
