A 56-year-old senior highway maintenance worker, was killed when the vehicle he was operating was struck from the rear by a semi on an interstate highway. The victim was driving the trail vehicle of a three vehicle highway striping crew. The striping operation was traveling down the interstate at 18 miles per hour. A semi was traveling in the same lane as the trail vehicle and came up on it at an estimated 75-80 mph. The driver of the semi hit his brakes and skidded for approximately 1.7 seconds before impacting the victim's vehicle. The trail vehicle was thrown into the median and rolled once. The driver was killed instantly. The Nebraska Department of Labor Investigator concluded that to prevent future similar occurrences employers should: (1) ensure for mobile striping operations, on a multilane road, that the rear vehicle be equipped with a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) and that it travels on the shoulder if possible. (2) ensure vehicle operators and occupants always use vehicle restraint systems. (3) consider using a combination of white, orange, or blue strobe lights mounted on all vehicles in the striping operation. (4) consider using a more durable method of striping than painting, such as heat inlaid tape, thermo plastic striping, or tape laid in grooves in the pavement, that would decrease worker exposure to hazards. (5) include in training for mobile operations the need to constantly scan rear view mirrors for fast approaching traffic and procedures to avoid collision.


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    Title :

    Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for Nebraska: Member of Road Striping Crew Struck by Semi


    Publication date :

    1999


    Size :

    5 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English