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Truck Driver Died When He Was Struck By a Vehicle in a Hit-and-Run Incident

File Language:
English


Details

  • Corporate Authors:
  • Description:
    In summer 2014, a male truck driver owner/operator in his 50s died when he was struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run incident after pulling his northbound 2005 International Tractor semi-truck with a box style attached empty trailer over to the right shoulder of a dry, 4-lane lane expressway with a posted speed limit of 70 mph. The roadway was unlit and curved slightly to the west. Paved shoulders were present on both sides of the expressway. The decedent had been on his cell phone with his spouse when he told her that another vehicle driver motioned to him that there was a problem with the trailer's tail lights. He told her that he was going to pull over to check his tail lights because he did not want to get a ticket. The decedent exited the freeway to the right shoulder, parking his semi and trailer fully on the shoulder. He was not wearing a high visibility vest. Leaving the tractor unit running and prior to exiting the tractor cab, he activated the hazard lights. The hazard lights were operational and the tractor's front headlights were lit. While either walking back to or returning from the back of the trailer near the fog line near the rear of the trailer on the roadway side, he was struck by the passenger side of an oncoming car. Passing motorists found him lying face down in the roadway between the two right lanes, just north of his semi-truck. Police found his left shoe wedged under the driver's side front rear trailer tire (the trailer had two rear axles). The tractor cab was not equipped with a forward-facing camera. MIFACE identified the following key and possible contributing factors in this incident: 1. Inattention of oncoming driver. 2.Walking on roadway side of tractor trailer. 3. Not wearing a high visibility vest. 4. Possible - Inadequate vehicle inspection prior to leaving lot. 5. Possible-Malfunction of trailer lights. RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Always wear a high visibility vest when exiting the tractor on a roadway or while walking in a truck yard. 2. When possible, after exiting the tractor, minimize exposure to oncoming traffic by walking around the cab (face traffic) and then walking on the non-traffic side of the trailer, keeping the tractor/trailer between you and active traffic. If not possible to minimize exposure to traffic, park the truck/trailer as far to the right as possible to maximize space between truck/trailer and oncoming traffic. 3. Perform an adequate pre-trip vehicle inspection, and include both the tractor and the trailer. 4. Use a flashlight, moving the flashlight back and forth, to light way and alert drivers when walking/working on a dark roadway. 5. When possible, travel to nearest exit/area with appropriate pull-off parking facilities to check vehicle function rather than stop on an active roadway. 6. Trucking companies should develop and implement specific policies, such as quarterly safety meetings and safe work practices, such as wearing high visibility vests to reduce the potential for injury. The policies and safe work practices should apply to and be shared with both company and independent contracted drivers. 7. Michigan's Move-Over law should be expanded to semi-trucks parked on a roadway shoulder. 8. Michigan Department of Transportation should consider retrofitting existing roadways, especially those roadways in highly traveled areas with rumble strips along the roadway pavement edges to warn motorists when their vehicle is approaching the shoulder.
  • Subjects:
  • Keywords:
  • FACE - NIOSH and State:
  • Series:
    Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
  • Subseries:
    State
  • DOI:
  • Publisher:
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  • Document Type:
    Text
  • Funding:
    Cooperative Agreement
  • Genre:
    Field Study
  • Place as Subject:
  • CIO:
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
  • Topic:
    Workplace Safety & Health
  • Location:
    North America
  • Pages in Document:
    1-10
  • NIOSHTIC Number:
    nn:20049170
  • NTIS Accession Number:
    PB2017-101399
  • Citation:
    Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 14MI052, 2016 Sep ; :1-10
  • Email:
    ndr4@cdc.gov
  • Federal Fiscal Year:
    2016
  • Performing Organization:
    Michigan State University
  • Peer Reviewed:
    False
  • NAICS and SIC Codes:
    48-49 - Transportation and Warehousing - (NAICS)
  • Start Date:
    2005/07/01
  • End Date:
    2026/06/30
  • Collection(s):
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:13a022568f2eb8c83c62f982a1dcf15f0cf4c9b5aecdaf7fd28b12a242d22dfee149b371f66eb082438892360be7b17defd073321a27df3c3f49d15bb12e546e
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 625.18 KB ]
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