• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Logo

Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse

Library of Resources to Improve Roadway Work Zone Safety for All Roadway Users

  • About
  • Join Listserv
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Work Zone Data
    • At a Glance
    • National & State Traffic Data
    • Work Zone Traffic Crash Trends and Statistics
    • Worker Fatalities and Injuries at Road Construction Sites
  • Topics of Interest
    • Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
    • Smart Work Zones
    • Transportation Management Plans
    • Accommodating Pedestrians
    • Worker Safety and Welfare
    • Project Coordination in Work Zones
  • Training
    • Flagger
    • Online Courses
    • Toolboxes
    • FHWA Safety Grant Products
    • Certification and
      Accreditation
  • Work Zone Devices
  • Laws, Standards & Policies
    • COVID-19 Guidance
  • Public Awareness
  • Events
  • About
  • Listserv
  • Contact
  • Search
Publication

Electrician Dies After Falling From Cherry Picker Basket

Abstract:

A 41-year-old male electrician (victim) died after he fell from the basket of an aerial lift truck. The victim and two coworkers were installing electrical wiring for a sign on the side of a highway bridge. The two left most traffic lanes were closed to traffic. The workers arrived at the scene with a pickup truck and a truck equipped with a basket-type work platform attached to a hydraulic boom. After arriving at the site the victim entered the basket, swung it beneath the bridge and raised it up between two of the bridge beams. The victim determined the length of steel pipe needed for the electrical wires and verbally told his coworkers the required length of pipe. At this time the basket was positioned above the closed traffic lanes. While the coworkers cut the pipe, the victim apparently moved the basket to a location above the nearest open traffic lane. A semi-truck approached the site and observed warning cones and signs directing traffic to merge to the right. The driver proceeded toward the work site in the open traffic lane nearest the closed lanes. When the truck neared the workers vehicles, the driver noticed the basket over the traffic lane in which he was driving. Before the driver could slow the truck or safely move to the next lane, the semi-truck struck the cherry basket. The collision caused the victim to be thrown from the basket to the surface of the roadway. The coworkers heard the collision and looked as the victim fell. They used a cell phone to place a call to emergency personnel. Emergency personnel arrived shortly after being notified and pronounced the victim dead at the scene. MN FACE investigators concluded that, in order to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences, the following guidelines should be followed:
all workers and equipment should remain or be kept within the boundaries of established work zones.

Publisher: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Publication Date: December 23, 1999
Full Text URL: Link to URL
Publication Types: Books, Reports, Papers, and Research Articles
Topics: Crash Reports; Merging Control; Worker Safety

Copyright © 2023 American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse is a project of the ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation. It is operated in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Texas A&M Transportation Institute. | Copyright Statement · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer
American Road and Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation, American Road and Transportation Builders Association U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Texas A&M Transportation Institute