FACE Facts: No Seatbelts? A Deadly Mistake!

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  California. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  The California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program has been investigating work-related deaths since 1992. The goal of the FACE program is to prevent these deaths by informing workers and managers of worksite hazards and how to avoid them. The two incidents below involve workers who died because there were no seatbelts, or the seatbelts were used the wrong way. One of the deaths happened in a vehicle that had no protection for the occupants if the vehicle rolled over. A BACKHOE OPERATOR IS RUN OVER BY A BACKHOE: A 46­year­old backhoe operator, James C.*(* Not the victim's real name), died after being run over by his backhoe. The backhoe had a rollover protective structure (ROPS). James was digging a trench above a 10­foot high slope. He was moving the backhoe forward when a front wheel of the backhoe hit a rock. This caused the backhoe to bounce. James tried to regain control. Then he put the backhoe in reverse by mistake. One of the rear wheels hit the previously dug trench. The backhoe bounced again. James decided to jump out, and took off his seatbelt. James jumped toward the high side of the slope but rolled and slid down to the bottom. The backhoe traveled back down the slope and ran over him. Many workers believe they can safely jump from a vehicle if a mishap occurs. However, workers often are injured or killed if they try to jump. A WELDER DIES WHEN HE IS THROWN FROM A CART WITHOUT SEATBELTS OR ROLLOVER PROTECTION: A 49­year­old welder, Kyle H.*(* Not the victim's real name), died when a forklift struck his electric cart. Kyle was riding in a cart driven by a co­worker. A forklift was traveling down the same roadway in the opposite direction. The forklift driver had a partially blocked field of vision because of a large load. He made an abrupt left turn into the cart while trying to turn down a side road. The cart was spun around. Kyle and his co­worker were thrown from the cart. The co­worker received some cuts and bruises. Kyle was run over by the forklift. The cart did not have seatbelts or rollover protection. Many workplace vehicles are not required by law or regulation to have seatbelts or rollover protection. However, these vehicles can rollover or eject their passengers if involved in a traffic mishap. RECOMMENDATIONS: Ensure seatbelts work correctly and are used. Ensure seatbelts (and ROPS where appropriate) are present on vehicles that have the potential for rollovers or crashes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Fatalities Injuries Injury Prevention Motor Vehicles Safety Belts Safety Practices Vehicle Safety
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  California Department of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Fact Sheet
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060120
• Citation:
  Richmond, CA: California Department of Public Health, 2002 Feb; :1-2
• Contact Point Address:
  California Department of Public Health Occupational Health Branch (OHB), FACE Program 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Building P, 3rd Floor, Richmond, CA 94804
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19910930
• Source Full Name:
  FACE facts: no seatbelts? A deadly mistake!
• End Date:
  20060831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ac51ef5cd46d473ef6c3e9097e4110c3040cefcecdb6ed9286ad8fd308bd00abec410968ca8e6aa80538df7bcc9899618ecae3d952c12eeb6ab5e8811cbe58e0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229012/cdc_229012_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 315.92 KB ]