Abstract: At about 9:20 a.m. on March 12, 1990, Employee #1, a traffic maintenance worker, was painting a traffic signal device from an aerial lift bucket at a busy intersection. The bucket was struck by a passing tractor trailer truck and Employee #1 was thrown to the ground and killed. He had been tied off, but the force of the impact severed the safety ring and the pin that connected the bucket to the articulating arm. Preliminary findings reveal that the employer did not use sufficient traffic controls. No advanced warning signs were placed in the work zone. Company and union safety procedures were not followed when the bucket was articulated outside of the general circumference of its base vehicle. The height from grade to base of the signal light was 14 ft 1 in. The company vehicle was a 1981 Chevy truck equipped with Dura-Lift model DFSL. The tractor trailer was a 1987 Mercedes-Benz, height 12 ft 3 in. of box.