Inspection Detail

Inspection: 311260061 - The Fishel Company

Inspection Information - Office: Indiana Department Of Labor

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:40 a.m. on March 14, 2008, an employee was flagging traffic near the intersection of State Road 62 and Salem Church Road, Charlestown Indiana. A SUV was driven by a female motorist who was taking her two young children to school. They lived approximately 1000 feet west of the accident scene. She pulled out of her driveway and headed east on SR 62. As her speed approached the 55 MPH speed limit, she struck the employee who was standing in the middle of the highway. Although the employee was wearing a retro-reflective warning vest and held a stop and slow sign paddle, the motorist did not see him prior to the collision. The accident occurred at about 7:40 AM. Official sunrise time on this date was 7:55 AM. It was still dark or dim outside. Additionally, it was misting and possible somewhat foggy. The driver had her headlights and windshield wipers on. No artificial lighting was being used by the employer to protect the flagger. He was positioned in darkness. No street lights, portable lights, strobe lights, flash lights, flares, etc. were in use. The only other traffic control device in use for eastbound traffic control was a Utility Work Ahead sign. This sign was positioned approximately 1,500 feet west of the accident scene. As described above, the driver left her residence which was about 1000' west of the scene. Due to this, she would not have been aware of the sign or the work activities ahead. The employer's normal work was taking place well off the roadway, at the north side of SR 62. They were relocating utilities for an intersection improvement project. On the morning of the accident, a mechanic from an equipment rental company stopped by the job site to replace a broken bit in the hoe-ram on their rented excavator. Due to wet, muddy conditions at the site he believed that he could not get his truck onto the site. Due to this, and the fact that the bit was very heavy, the mechanic asked the employees if the excavator could be brought across the highway, to the south side, for him to work on. The foreman agreed to do so. The employee was assigned to flag eastbound traffic, a coworker was assigned to flag westbound traffic, and the foreman was preparing to drive the excavator across the highway when the accident occurred.

Keywords: TRAFFIC ACCIDENT, FLAGMAN, STRUCK BY, MOTOR VEHICLE