Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) for Washington State: City Worker Killed When Struck by a Dump Truck in Washington State.

摘要

On August 8, 2000, a 43-year-old male public works employee died when he was struck and run over by a dump truck that was backing up along a city street that was under construction. A construction superintendent was also struck and seriously injured in the incident. The city worker was working alongside the construction superintendent at the time of the incident. Both were standing in the street running a chalk line, when a dump truck backed down the street and struck them. Within moments 911 was called and both victims were transported to a local medical center. The city worker died while in transit to the medical center. To prevent similar occurrences in the future, the Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) investigative team concluded that employers engaged in roadway construction or maintenance should follow these guidelines: (1) Develop and utilize an 'Internal Traffic Control Plan' for each road construction project; (2) Employers should use visual safety devices (i.e., retro reflective barrels, delineators, portable barricades, cones) to channel construction vehicles to separate them from workers in the work zone; (3) All employees working in road construction work zones should wear high visibility safety apparel such as high visibility vests and hard hats; (4) Construction work zones and construction vehicle/equipment traffic flow should be designed to avoid backing up vehicles/equipment as much as possible; (5) Use a spotter to provide direction for trucks and heavy equipment backing up in work zones; (6) Dump trucks should be equipped with additional visual or sensing devices to cover 'blind spots'; (7) Construction vehicle drivers and key work zone personnel should be equipped with two-way portable radio communication devices to help coordinate construction vehicle activity within the work zone; and (8) Careful consideration should be given to the use of cell phones when working in construction work zones around moving equipment.