On August 11, 2021, a 53-year-old contract truck driver with ten years’ experience was fatally injured while conducting a pre-operational examination of a truck at a mine in Mill Creek WV with 28 employees and 20 contractors*. The rear wheels of the vehicle struck the truck driver when the truck rolled forward.
Best Practices:
- Block mobile equipment against motion. Adequately chock wheels or turn wheels into a bank.
- Use specially designed truck-wheel chocks of the appropriate size and material to hold the vehicle securely. Do not use lumber, cinder blocks, rocks, or other makeshift items to chock.
- Never position yourself in hazardous areas around equipment parked on a grade that is not blocked or secured from movement.
- Maintain the equipment’s braking systems. Perform repairs and adjustments when necessary and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. Do not exceed the manufacturer’s load limits.
Additional Information:
This is the 24th fatality reported in 2021, and the tenth classified as “Powered Haulage.” (*details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data.)
Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).