Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for New York: Newspaper Carrier Killed in a Two-Car Head-On Collision

摘要

In September 2007, a 59 year-old newspaper carrier (the victim) was killed in a head-on collision with a car driven by a deputy sheriff. The incident occurred on a two-lane highway that ran primarily north and south. The highway crests near the area of the collision: there is a moderate uphill in both the north and south directions. The collision occurred just north of the crest. At the time of the incident, the victim was traveling south in her car in the northbound lane placing newspapers in the curbside mailboxes along the east side of the highway. The deputy sheriff was on his evening shift patrolling the same area. At 2:28 A.M., the deputy sheriff was dispatched to respond to an emergency call. The deputy sheriff started driving north on the same highway towards the crest with his emergency lights activated. Meanwhile the victim was approaching the crest heading south in the northbound lane. Because of the obstruction of the hill and the vehicle speeds, neither the deputy sheriff nor the victim had sufficient time to react to avoid the collision. The victim's car was straddling the northbound fog line when it collided with the police car just north of the crest. The victim was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene. The deputy sheriff was wearing his seat belt during the collision; he was treated for minor cuts and bruises. New York State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (NY FACE) investigators concluded that to help prevent similar incidents from occurring, employers should: (1) instruct newspaper delivery personnel not to drive on the wrong side of roadways while delivering newspapers; (2) instruct newspaper carriers to use their seat belts whenever the vehicles are in motion; (3) require newspaper carriers to use high-visibility strobe lights on their delivery vehicles; (4) evaluate delivery routes, assess the hazards and develop a comprehensive delivery safety program; (5) provide delivery safety training to all newspaper carriers; (6) consider using right-hand drive cars for delivering newspapers; and (7) promote customers' understanding of the delivery hazards so that they would be more receptive to alternative paper delivery methods.