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COAL MINE FATALITY - On Monday, June 28, 1999, a coal truck driver was fatally injured when he apparently lost control of a loaded coal truck while traveling down a haul road constructed on an 18 percent grade. The victim was either thrown or jumped from the truck and received fatal injuries upon hitting the ground. There were no eye witnesses to the accident. The truck continued down the haul road, approximately 167 feet from where the victim was found, struck the right side berm near an escape ramp and flipped over on its side.

MSHA-Fatal Alert Bulletin Drawing
BEST PRACTICES
  • Ensure that adequate brakes are provided and maintained. Preventive maintenance should be performed more frequently when trucks operate on steep grades.

  • Always operate trucks at speeds consistent with grades and road conditions. Use a lower gear on steep grades and do not change gears while descending steep grades.

  • Always wear seatbelts when operating vehicles.
  • This is the sixteenth fatality reported in calendar year 1999 in the coal mining industry. As of this date in 1998, there were fourteen fatalities.

    For more information:
    MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report