Asphalt Milling Superintendent Crushed Under Asphalt Milling Machine, Virginia

On August 5, 1994, a 40-year-old male asphalt milling superintendent (the victim) was crushed when the asphalt milling machine he was operating overturned off a transporter (lo-boy) trailer. The victim and two co-workers had just milled a section of interstate highway and were loading the asphalt milling machine for transport from the jobsite. As the victim trammed the machine up onto the transporter, wooden ramps being used to elevate the rear end of the machine over the transporter wheels dislodged, and the machine overturned off the transporter into a roadside culvert. The victim was trapped in the operator’s station and crushed as the machine rolled on top of him. One of the co-workers notified the EMS who responded immediately, followed by the medical examiner. The victim was pronounced dead at the site.

NIOSH investigators concluded that to prevent similar occurrences, employers should:

• ensure that equipment used for loading mobile machines on transporters is configured so that precise alignment of the machine is not critical to the safety of the operation.

In addition, equipment designers, manufacturers, and employers should:

• consider providing control station layouts that use dissimilar-shaped control levers for differing functions, or which include control lockout devices to prevent hazards from inadvertent control activation
• consider machine operator visibility when developing machine designs and operational procedures.