Agriculture Fatality Narrative: Orchard Worker Driving UTV Struck by Car

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 55-year-old orchard worker was driving a four-wheel drive utility task vehicle (UTV) when he was struck by a car. The incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. It was dim outside and an hour before sunrise. The worker had just begun his shift for the day. He was driving the UTV from a shop building to pick up blueberries at an orchard. He had to travel 3.5 miles on paved county roads to the orchard. A passenger car was approaching him from behind in the same eastbound lane. The car driver was 16-years-old and had just received his driver's license. The speed limit was 55 mph, but there were no traffic signs or streetlights in the area. It is unknown if the vehicles had their lights on. As the car caught up to the UTV, it struck it from the rear and pushed it 310 feet, nearly the length of a football field, before coming to a stop in an orchard adjacent to the road. First responders pronounced the worker dead at the scene. Following the incident, investigators found: 1. The employer's accident prevention program (APP) had a motorized vehicle policy that did not mention the UTV manufacturer's safety guidelines to prohibit driving the vehicle on public roadways. 2. The employer's motorized vehicle policy did not specify county traffic and vehicle ordinances that restricted off-road motorized vehicles, including UTVs, from driving upon county roads. While it is unknown if the UTV's lights were on when the predawn collision occurred, state law requires vehicle lights to be on a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise. The employer's motorized vehicle policy did not include these lighting requirements. 1. Employers must maintain conditions within the workplace that will not endanger the health, safety or welfare of employees. FACE investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences employers should: 2. Use a utility trailer or road safe/legal vehicle to transport UTV, ATV, and other off-road vehicles to worksites to have them avoid using public roads when such use is deemed unsafe by vehicle manufacturers and/or restricted by local ordinances. 3. As part of their APP, do a job hazard analysis (JHA) of tasks involving farm vehicles and equipment that may pose risks. Workers should be involved in creating the JHA. 4. Make sure APP policies and safety training instruct UTV, ATV, and other off-road vehicle operators to follow manufacturer's safety guidelines and local vehicle and traffic rules. 5. Develop APP policies that require UTV, ATV, and other off-road vehicle operators to turn on lights and wear DOT-compliant helmets and reflective, high visibility clothing in poor visibility conditions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Agriculture Automobiles Farmers Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Agricultural Agricultural Machinery Agricultural Safety Agricultural Workers Drivers Equipment Design Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Farm Workers Fatalities Hazards Injuries Machine Operation Machine Operators Machine Safety Protective Measures Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Training Work Environment Workers Worker Safety

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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:
  Report
• 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:20065475
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-222-2022, 2022 Jun; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Agriculture fatality narrative: orchard worker driving UTV struck by car
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2c43c4c9fac8b03c471b2ebefbde6e0cc9695d6c576ca679c269dcada11eecba4a3dc91fa09b26a1d863d9f6f272094c482eea0a688fbfc54b57d29e44c3aa59
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229121/cdc_229121_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 408.88 KB ]