Unseen, unheard
A skid steer operator yelled a warning to the dozer operator and the victim, but because of the noise of the jobsite, he was not heard by either.
A skid steer operator yelled a warning to the dozer operator and the victim, but because of the noise of the jobsite, he was not heard by either.
Accident investigators believe the victim fell from the open cab while the roller was in reverse. The seat belt was functional but unfastened and retracted. …
Paving machines move so slowly, you wouldn’t think you could get run over by one. But, you’d be wrong. Here’s what happened when a new crew member made the fatal decision to hitch a ride when a paver was backing up.
The accident: A construction crew was preparing to close one lane of travel on a two-lane highway to repair damaged guardrails. A flagger stepped out into the road with his back to oncoming traffic. The driver, blinded by early morning sun, failed to see the flagger and struck him while traveling approximately 55 mph.
The accident: Crews were working at night to replace aging cast-iron water pipes in an intersection. One worker was standing in the street, guiding the operator of a wheel loader as he backed out into the intersection. After the loader stopped backing up and started moving forward, the worker decided to hitch a ride, and grabbed the loader’s side ladder.
The accident: One crew member started to move an asphalt paving machine, and struck another laborer, who became trapped under the machine. The paver operator left the site before emergency personnel pronounced the laborer dead.
The accident: A worker was cutting concrete along the white center line of a four-lane highway. Orange reflective barrels closed the left lane to traffic, which was routed to a single lane.
The accident: A laborer was tasked with moving mortar from the mixer to the jobsite’s staging area. The mortar was located under a tarp-covered area. Exiting the tarp area backwards and in a crouched position, the worker did not see a skid steer operating nearby.
The accident: Two dump truck drivers in a work zone were instructed to switch trucks. One of the drivers exited his truck and walked to the rear towards the other vehicle.
The accident: A heavy equipment operator was part of a crew working on a resurfacing project for a county road. In need of a restroom, but with none available…
The accident: A skid steer operator was backdragging a section of a concrete contractor’s yard used for concrete testing. A cement truck driver approaching the construction trailer failed to use the sidewalk, instead walking through the area behind the skid steer.
The accident: A welder was working on a newly-laid section of rail when a wheeled excavator operator backed over his left arm. The machine’s wheel forced the welder’s arm into an inch-wide gap in the rails, severely crushing the limb.
The accident: A 10-member crew was replacing expansion joints on a bridge in the right, outside lane of a highway. A worker driving a truck backed over a fellow worker walking in the closed, orange-coned lane.
The accident: A dump truck driver was transporting a load of asphalt through a work zone during a nighttime paving project. In backing up to the next section to be paved, the driver felt a bump and then noticed the victim appear from under the front of the truck.
The accident: A milling machine was removing asphalt and depositing it in a dump truck. An engineering technician stepped behind the dump truck just as the truck driver began backing toward the machine.
The accident: A paving crew was milling and repaving a parking lot at night. A laborer was assigned to walk alongside a cold milling machine, acting as a spotter for the operator as well as monitoring the cutting drum area.