On October 14, 2020 (at a South Carolina mine with 49 employees*), a lead person (61 years old with 17 years experience*) was killed when his pickup truck was struck by a haul truck.
Best Practices:
- Install and maintain collision avoidance/warning systems.
- Equip smaller vehicles with strobe lights and flags positioned high enough to be seen from the cabs of haulage trucks in all lighting conditions.
- Establish and follow communication protocols that require verbal verification for all mobile equipment operators.
- Design haul roads to minimize congested areas and maximize visibility.
- Do not drive smaller vehicles in a large truck’s potential path.
- Train miners on mobile traffic patterns and policies. Do not rely on training or other administrative controls alone to prevent powered haulage or other accidents.
Additional Information:
This is the 20th fatality reported in 2020 and the fifth classified as “Powered Haulage.” (Italicized details added by safeminers.com)
Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).