On June 20, 2010, a 52 year-old mechanic with 8 years of experience was fatally injured at a surface copper operation. A ½ ton pickup truck had parked in front of a 240 ton haul truck that was also parked. The haul truck pulled forward and struck the pickup truck fatally injuring the driver and seriously injuring another miner.
Best Practices
- Do not park smaller vehicles in a large truck’s potential path of movement.
- Before moving mobile equipment, be certain no one is in the intended path, sound the horn to warn possible unseen persons, and wait to give them time to move to a safe location.
- Ensure all persons are trained to recognize work place hazards, specifically the limited visibility and blind areas inherent to operation of large equipment and the hazard of mobile equipment traveling near them.
- Establish procedures that require smaller vehicles to maintain a safe distance from large mobile equipment until eye contact is made or approval to move closer is obtained from the mobile equipment operator. Provide training in these procedures.
- Install cameras and collision avoidance systems on large trucks to protect persons.
- Regularly monitor work practices and reinforce the importance of them. Take immediate action to correct unsafe conditions or work practices.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf), Spanish Fatalgram (pdf)