Fatality Narrative: Delivery Driver Dies When Forklift Overturns While Delivering Landscape Paving Blocks

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A delivery driver died when the truck-mounted forklift he was operating overturned on a city street as he was delivering landscape paving blocks to a residence. His employer was a landscape gardening materials supplier. He had worked for the company for 18 months. He had a commercial driver's license; previously, he had worked as a delivery driver for other companies. On the day of the incident, he was making a delivery of eight pallets of manufactured stone landscape paving blocks to a newly constructed residence. He parked his flatbed truck curbside facing downhill on the 20-degree slope of a city street. He used the three-wheel drive, truck-mounted forklift to delivery six pallets. As he prepared to lift a seventh pallet from the flatbed, he positioned the forklift in the street to the side of the flatbed. The forklift' left front wheel was in a 1 ¾-inch depression in the road. As he was lifting the pallet, the weight of the load and the position of the wheel, caused the forklift to overturn. The driver, who was not using the seatbelt, was pinned under the forklift's overhead guard. He died at the scene. REQUIREMENTS: Employers must make sure operators use restraint devices, such as seatbelts or lap-bars when they are provided on the powered industrial truck. Employers must conduct walk-around safety inspections. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar incidents: Employers should train employees to avoid driving truck-mounted forklifts on steep slopes. If forklift operators must drive on a slope: - Avoid sudden movements when the load is raised, as this may cause the forklift to tip over. - Keep load as low as possible and close to the mast. - Use the lowest transmission gear. - Reduce travel speed. - Drive up or down the slope, not across it. - Travel with heavy end of the forklift upslope. (The forklift did not have a large counterweight, so when this type of forklift is moving a load, operators should point the forks upslope.) Employers should also: - Consider equipping forklifts with a safety interlock system that requires that the operator be in the seat with the seatbelt fastened in order to operate the forklift. - Conduct unplanned site visits as part of their safety program to ensure employees are following proper safety practices. - Train forklift operators to follow the requirements of the manufacturer's operator's manual. When making deliveries, ensure that there is a safe place to both park the delivery vehicle and operate the forklift. Drivers should communicate with their supervisor if there are problems. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Drivers Employees Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Fatalities Forklifts Injuries Motor Vehicles Safety Belts Safety Measures Safety Programs Training

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• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Lay Publication
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062205
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-205-2021, 2021 Mar; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: delivery driver dies when forklift overturns while delivering landscape paving blocks
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:71a4506f055f6105c97fc37dcbdc8a5b4187ae65aaae94efd6911f901d453fa3cd14ffdf1fc0ec5559e6b684bb420d058d5879f83130a3d29e2d374f022cf270
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229099/cdc_229099_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 286.82 KB ]