Traffic trouble at Five Corners - Truck's tail gate accident on Beach Road

A work crew cleans up debris strewn along Beach Road and State Road when a dump truck's tailgate opened unexpectedly. The incident was one of three mishaps that delayed traffic at Five Corners in Vineyard Haven Friday, March 7th 2008

Traffic trouble at Five Corners

Traffic delays worthy of an August afternoon tied up the Five Corners intersection in Vineyard Haven Friday, March 7, when three separate incidents in about 15 minutes delayed motorists.

About 9:15 am, police responded to a minor accident on Beach Road, just outside the intersection. After a record check, police determined the license of one of the drivers, Denamos Moore, was revoked because of an insurance cancellation. Mr. Moore was arrested and transported to the Dukes County Jail for booking. The other driver, Lawrence Yorke, was not cited.

While the first fender-bender was being cleared, a truck owned by Clermont Construction, and driven by George Hearn, began strewing excavation debris along the roadway. The truck's tailgate opened on Beach Road near the Ralph Packer oil tank farm, and dropped gravel and large rocks from there, through Five Corners, and up Beach Street, before stopping in a parking lot at the corner of Main Street. Mr. Hearn was cited for transporting an unsecured load, and could be fined up to $200.

A front-end loader was called in to help clear the debris from the road, but before that was cleaned up, another minor accident on the opposite side of the Five Corners intersection required a police response.

Michael Sedlier of Oak Bluffs, who was driving a tractor and semi-trailer, was involved in a collision with a pick-up truck driven by Gregory Whitmore of West Tisbury.

There was minor damage to the pick-up. Neither driver was cited. Police say the gravel in the roadway did not contribute to third incident.

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Mark Deverson

President

Precision Endgate Safety Inc.

Phone: 1-877-942-4225

Fax: 1-866-278-8735

Email: mark@precisionendgate.com

http://www.precisionendgate.com/

Company Owner Dies In Construction Truck Accident

In doing some research for Precision Endgate I came across this interesting article.

People just do not seem to realize how dangerous an endgate problems can be.

Mark


By Nick Miroff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 31, 2006;
Page B05

An Alexandria man working on the Springfield interchange project was killed yesterday after being hit in the chest by a board that he had wedged between two dump trucks, police and construction officials said.

Julio Alvarez Rodriguez, 43, owner of Julio's Trucking in Alexandria, was trying to haul debris away from the construction site, said Larry Cloyed, manager of the interchange project for the Virginia Department of Transportation. The tailgate on Rodriguez's truck would not shut properly, so he tried to close it by placing a three-foot-long piece of thick wood against the gate while another truck backed up against it.

"The lumber either snapped or flung out loose," Cloyed said. "With all that pressure, it came out like a missile and killed him."
The accident occurred at 7:20 a.m. in the construction area between Interstate 395 and the carpool lanes at the Mixing Bowl, Virginia State Police said. Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.

"The force of the [board] caused major injuries in his chest area," Sgt. Thomas Ingham said. Police ruled out criminal negligence or wrongdoing in Rodriguez's death, and an autopsy will be conducted, Ingham said.

Rodriguez was a native of Honduras, Ingham said. Efforts to contact his family and his company were unsuccessful.

Rodriguez was the fifth worker to be killed at the Springfield site since construction began in 1999. The $676 million project, designed to ease congestion at one of the region's most troubled traffic spots, is expected to be completed late next summer. Ninety to 120 people work at the site on any given day.

The most recent fatal accident at the site occurred in April 2005, when Darren Havermale, 35, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., was caught between a steel beam and a lift basket, or cherry picker, and suffered a broken neck.

In 2002, the Virginia Department of Labor shut down construction on the project for four days to conduct a safety review after the deaths of three workers in nine months.
Safety has improved, Cloyed said, but five deaths in seven years is "not a good record, in my eyes."

Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene yesterday, as were safety inspectors from VDOT and the interchange project. Cloyed said yesterday's incident was a clear departure from approved construction practices.
"It's frustrating when you have a tragedy of this nature that could have been so easily prevented," he said.

"The best lesson learned from this is that the word needs to get out to the trucking community," Cloyed said. "If you have a loose tailgate, this is not the way to fix the problem."

VDOT spokeswoman Joan Morris said the accident muted the excitement generated by last week's opening of a ramp linking I-395 to the inner loop of the Capital Beltway.
"We made a major improvement last week when we opened a new bridge," she said, "and now, the next week, we're dealing with a tragic fatality."

Mark Deverson
President
Precision Endgate Safety Inc.
Phone: 1-877-942-4225
Fax: 1-866-278-8735
Email: mark@precisionendgate.com
http://www.precisionendgate.com/

What Is a Box Truck?

There are many manufacturers of box trucks for the US market. While there are differences in each model, box trucks do have many similarities:

• Box trucks have separate, box-like cargo areas that sit on the frame.
  The box on some trucks is completely separate from the cab. The cargo area of those trucks cannot be accessed from the cab.
• Some box trucks have a cargo area that is grafted to the cab. In such cases, the cargo area may be accessed from the cab.
• Most box trucks have a roll-up rear door that is similar to a garage door.
• Box trucks are generally used by companies that need to haul large items such as furniture, appliances, and large boxes.
• Box trucks are very common. You probably see them every day. They are frequently used as rental moving vans by companies like U-Haul and Ryder.
• Box trucks are not all large. They come in all sizes.

Given the size and nature of box trucks, there may be a number of ways in which a serious injury can result due to negligent actions on the part of the operator.

Road salt likely factor in Rankin fatality

In doing some research for Precision Endgate we came upon this accident from January 16th 2000 where a large amount of salt came out the end of a tail gate causing an accident.

Mark Deverson

RCMP probing crash; By Tera Camus / Cape Breton Bureau

Whale Cove - Road salt may have been a factor in the death Sunday of musician John Morris Rankin.

Salt spilled by a provincial Transportation Department truck left a large, unexpected bump on Route 219 moments before the internationally known Celtic musician and member of the Rankins approached in his sports utility vehicle. Mr. Rankin was on his way to Cheticamp to attend a hockey tournament.

"There was certainly a mound or pile of salt . . . and from talking to our staff, this seemed to be a little bigger ... (than) the ordinary," department spokesman Chris Welner said.

The mound, less than a third of a metre high and as wide as a single lane, created a speed bump in the 80 km/h zone. It's believed Mr. Rankin swerved to avoid the bump, then lost control of the truck, which plunged over a 25-metre cliff into the Atlantic Ocean near Margaree Harbour.

Mr. Rankin's three passengers, including his son, Michael, 15, managed to escape the overturned, submerged vehicle. Michael was the first one to make it up the cliff and he flagged down a passing car. He and two 14-year-old boys were later treated for hypothermia and released from hospital.

Inverness RCMP are looking into whether the excessive salt on the road caused the crash. The roads were also snow-covered and icy at the time of the 7:30 a.m. accident.
"That's still under investigation, and I do not have much comment," Const. Sheldon Miller said.

"It's sad . . . probably one of the hardest (investigations) I've had to do," Const. Miller said. "The boys were lucky" to survive.

Mr. Welner said the department is working with the RCMP to determine whether the salt was a factor.

"Right now, we don't have all the facts but we're helping gather the facts and helping the police with their work," Mr. Welner said.

The department isn't going to introduce any changes to the way it clears the highway of snow and ice, Mr. Welner told CBC Radio's afternoon show in Sydney.

"Every day (the drivers) go out and go out as well-trained officers who do a very difficult job in very difficult conditions," he said.

Mr. Rankin, who lived in Judique, played fiddle and piano for 10 years in the popular Celtic pop band that included sisters Raylene, Cookie and Heather and brother Jimmy. Last fall, the Juno award-winning group broke up to pursue solo careers. At the time, Mr. Rankin said he was interested in spending more time at home with his wife, Sally, his son and daughter Molly, 13.

No autopsy will be performed. Police cannot say whether he died from injuries suffered in the crash or drowned. His funeral is set for Thursday at 2 p.m. at St. Mary's Church in Mabou

Click here for full article

Dump Truck Safety Tip - Loading your Truck properly

Loading of your Truck:

-Loading of the box front-to-back must meet allowable gross weight and axle weight limitations set by the Department of Transportation (DOT). From side to side it is best to load as evenly as possible.

-If material is likely to flow poorly, lighten up the load in the top end of the box. A slightly smaller load will be better than a full load that causes a tip-over.

-Box liners will help most materials flow better during dumping. Liners also help to keep the box in good condition.

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Mark Deverson
President
Precision Endgate Safety Inc.
Phone: 1-877-942-4225
Fax: 1-866-278-8735
Email: mark@precisionendgate.com
http://www.precisionendgate.com/

Dump Truck Safety Tip - Dump Truck Stability

Dump Truck Stability is adversely affected by one or more of the following factors:

-the unit is not on a level surface when dumping.

-a large amount of material is in the upper portion of the raised box.

-material does not flow out of the top portion of the box, or does not flow out of one side of the top portion.

-the rear wheels settle unevenly as the load moves to the rear during dumping.

-wind may exert lateral loads, especially if the box is long, as is the case with end-dump semi-trailers.

Stability may also be affected by the unit's mechanical condition:

-Poor rear suspension systems on one side of the vehicle.
-Uneven tire pressures in rear wheels.

-Worn or inadequate components of the lifting system such as pins.

-Worn or inadequate lifting cylinders.

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Mark Deverson

President

Precision Endgate Safety Inc.

Phone: 1-877-942-4225

Fax: 1-866-278-8735

Email: mark@precisionendgate.com

http://www.precisionendgate.com/

Airborne tail gate kills couple In Toronto

Seniors die in SUV on Hwy. 400 after truck hits median, sending object through their windshield

Apr 20, 2008 04:30 AM - Brett Popplewell Staff Reporter

There was no way they could have seen it coming. The tailgate from a dump truck flew across traffic on Highway 400 and smashed through the windshield of an SUV, killing an elderly couple from Toronto.

The victims, a 75-year-old man and woman, have been identified but their names are not being released until next of kin have been notified. They were travelling north on the highway and were near King Rd. around 2 p.m. yesterday when the accident occurred.

"The dump truck was travelling southbound when it lost control and hit the centre cement median," OPP Const. Dave Woodford smaid yesterday.
"Some witnesses are telling us that the truck may have blown a tire and that it hit the median as a result."

More than three hours after the accident, police had still not removed the victims from the remains of the vehicle, a Chevrolet Avalanche.

Woodford said the female passenger was crushed upon impact and died immediately. The man driving the Avalanche was still conscious and breathing faintly when police arrived at the scene but he died before being removed from the car.

The driver of the dump truck was not injured. Witnesses, including the driver of a second dump truck, stopped at the scene but were unable to help the couple.

"There's nothing left of the vehicle, (the truck's tailgate) went straight through the front," Woodford said. "You can't plan for anything like this, it's like being struck by lightning or having a tree coming down on top of you.

"Everyone could have been doing everything perfectly right," he said, adding that he'd never heard of a tailgate coming off a dump truck before.

All lanes of Highway 400 between King Rd. and Highway 9 were closed yesterday afternoon.

Northbound lanes were reopened shortly after 7 p.m. but southbound traffic remained diverted until late into the night as police continued to investigate.

With files from Tamsyn Burgmann

Two killed in dump truck accident In Canada on Highway 400 Toronto

This accident was reported last summer by CTV Toronto with a tail gate problem from CTV Toronto's John Musselman. Click Here for full Report

An elderly man and woman are dead after the tailgate on a dump truck flew off and slammed into a vehicle on Highway 400 on Saturday afternoon.

Ontario Provincial Police said the dump truck was travelling south when it lost control and slammed into the centre median near King Road at about 2 p.m.

The impact ripped the tailgate from the large truck, sending it into the northbound lanes, where it crashed through the windshield of a Chevrolet Avalanche, said Const. Dave Woodford.
The occupants of the Chevrolet, a man and woman both aged 75, were pronounced dead at the scene.

"You don't expect something like that to happen," Woodford told CTV Toronto. "We hear sometimes tires coming off, but I've never heard of a tailgate coming off a vehicle."

Police closed all lanes of the highway in both directions to investigate and clean up the accident.
Woodford expected the highway to remain closed until at least 8 p.m.

Police are asking witnesses to contact Aurora OPP at 905-841-5777.

Dump Truck Safety Tip - Before you lift your box

Before you lift your box – or raise any piece of construction equipment … in Canada

-Check for overhead power lines, inquire as to the voltage rating of the power line, and follow the mandated safe limits of approach in the Occupational Health and Safety Act & Regulations.

-Continue watching for overhead power lines until your box has lowered to your frame when driving a dump truck.

-Contact with a overhead power line can cause damage to parts of your vehicle. Tires can act as an insulator until they blow. If tires do not blow drivers should check them for damage once they are clear from the site, and before they drive off.

-If you contact and down a power line stay in your vehicle unless there is an immediate fire danger. Others should be instructed to stay back at least 35 feet since electricity can travel through the ground around the impacted vehicle.

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Mark Deverson

President

Precision Endgate Safety Inc.

Phone: 1-877-942-4225

Fax: 1-866-278-8735

Email: mark@precisionendgate.com

http://www.precisionendgate.com/