On September 16, 2020 (at a New Jersey mine with 9 miners and 3 contractors on site*), a truck driver (37 years old with 20 years experience*) attempted to adjust the brakes on his tri-axle truck while the engine was running, the automatic transmission was in drive and the parking brake was not set. The truck moved forward and fatally injured the victim.
Best Practices:
- Before exiting, place the transmission in park, set the parking brake, turn off the engine and activate the hazard warning lights.
- Block equipment against motion and place high visibility cones or other flagging or signage to caution oncoming traffic before working on equipment.
- Maintain equipment braking systems and repair and adjustment as necessary.
- Conduct pre-operational examinations using qualified personnel to identify and repair defects that may affect the safe operation of equipment before it is placed into service.
- Train miners on site-specific hazards.
Additional Information:
This is the 17th fatality reported in 2020, and the third classified as “Powered Haulage.” (Italicized details added by safeminers.com)
Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).