Employee Safety

Equipment trailers – slips, trips and falls

By Jerry Fritz, District 5 Safety Representative

Recently an employee was exiting a flatbed equipment trailer after removing chains. He was preparing to load equipment on the trailer. When exiting the trailer, he stepped from the deck onto the 8" wide frame. His foot slipped into the opening near the jack stand, causing him to try and catch his balance with his other leg. Unfortunately, his leg buckled under the pressure and bent sideways, tearing multiple ligaments in his knee.

This employee will require major knee surgery and will miss an undetermined amount of work.

There have been multiple falls from trailers over the last few years. In an attempt to help mitigate future falls from trailers, the equipment team has developed removable steps with a handrail for trailers. When not in use, they are stored on the tongue of the trailer. • Between 1992 and 2003, the US

Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 63 deaths of workers involved in loading and unloading construction equipment from flatbed trailers. Approximately 1 in 6 of all injuries requiring time off are the results of a fall. • Performing any task repetitiously causes many people to “zone out” over time, which is when you’re at the highest risk for an accident to occur.

Take your time when you’re working around your truck or flatbed trailer, paying attention to the task at hand.

Simply being mentally present will significantly reduce your risk of an accident. • Wear non-slip footwear. Many injuries occur when a driver or employee loses their footing and falls from a flatbed trailer. It may come as a surprise to you that you’re not as agile as you once were, so awareness of your footing should be a priority. WYDOT policy pays a footwear allowance. • Don’t skip a step! There’s nothing worse than a busted shin so prevent it from happening by hitting every step.

This will reduce your risk of slipping off a step and keep your shins intact. • Never jump from your flatbed trailer, when steps are available. Jumping off your trailer is an easy way to sprain an ankle, break a bone, or worse. Always try and dismount your trailer by using steps. • Avoid stepping onto any narrow ledges. Creeping along the very edge of your flatbed could lead to you losing your footing and falling. n

On the right, pins are placed on the trailer tongue to hold the steps when not in use. The left image shows the step in use. The trailer has pin holes to attach the step to the deck, keeping the steps from moving while being used.

Wyoming crash data from 2017-2021 report that:

Approximately 24% of pedestrian-involved crashes involved a school-aged pedestrian, with 30% commuting to or from school at the time of the crash.

• The majority of crashes involving a school-aged pedestrian commuting to or from school were serious crashes (81.5%). • Approximately 39% of bicycleinvolved crashes involved a school-aged bicyclist, with 24.5% commuting to or from school at the time of the crash.

• The majority of crashes involving a school-aged bicyclist commuting to or from school were serious crashes (92%). • Around 81% of school bus related crashes directly involved the school bus as a contact vehicle.

• The majority of school bus related crashes were damage crashes (81%).

BY THE NUMBERS

Wyoming crash data October 2022 vs. (October 2021):

Fatalities: 84 (90) Serious Injuries: 332 (394) Alcohol-Involved Fatalities: 24 (30) Bicycle-Involved Fatalities: 1 (0) CMV-Involved Fatalities: 18 (9) Drug-Involved Fatalities: 8 (14) Motorcycle-Involved Fatalities: 15 (17) Pedestrian-Involved Fatalities: 7 (9) Speed-Related Fatalities: 35 (40)

Data current as of 10/05/2022