Semi Team Driver Dies After Being Ejected from Sleeper Berth

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (KY FACE) ; University of Kentucky. College of Public Health. Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center
• Description:
  In the fall of 2009, a husband-wife semi driver team traveled south on a four-lane interstate. They were driving a semi-tractor trailer loaded with air freight. It was nighttime
  
  the husband was driving, and the wife was in the sleeper berth. There was an unoccupied car parked on the right shoulder. The husband crossed the fog line on the right, sideswiped the car, traveled through a guardrail, and down an embankment toward a road below the interstate. During the trajectory of the semi-tractor trailer, the unit jackknifed
  
  the trailer detached from the semi then struck the semi, and both the husband and wife were ejected. The husband was found on the embankment, and the wife was found under the contents of the semi. A witness to the crash called emergency services. They arrived and transported the husband to the nearest trauma hospital. The coroner was contacted, and upon his arrival to the scene, declared the wife dead at the scene. To prevent future occurrences of similar incidents, the following recommendations have been made: Recommendation No. 1: Companies should provide new and refresher truck driver safety training for company drivers that includes driver distraction and defensive driving techniques as they pertain to fatigue. Recommendation No. 2: Passengers using the sleeper berth in a moving semi should use the restraint system currently provided by the manufacturer. Recommendation No. 3: Sleeper berth occupant protection systems should be redesigned to provide comfort as well as safety. Recommendation No. 4: Electronic stability systems should be mandatory equipment on all commercial vehicles. Recommendation No. 5: Commercial vehicle carriers should implement and enforce a workplace policy that requires drivers to wear seat belts while operating a commercial vehicle. Recommendation No. 6: A comprehensive motor vehicle safety assessment of Kentucky's interstate system needs to be performed in the area where the collision took place.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Occupational Health Safety Safety Management Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Author Keywords: Inflatable Vest Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 4 Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-practices Safety-programs Seat Belt Sleeper Berth Training Traumatic-injuries Truck-drivers Trucking Work-environment Work-practices Workers

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Motor Vehicles ; Prevention through Design (PtD)
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE09KY081
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046036
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2015-103756
• 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 09KY081, 2010 May ; :1-7
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  University of Kentucky
• 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):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:58820b924f45a26c09c6f42d67cc2d56cd054bb34be1c99d0b99deecb2e5cc77118eaf69a83cf0c7b033483a5683f375f33a7df215f11de72463236ab2fb3c40
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165057/cdc_165057_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 366.64 KB ]