Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: FALLING

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to the hazard of being run over by a garbage truck in that the employer did not ensure that employees did not ride on the steps of the truck when the truck was backing up and the employer did not ensure that employees did not ride on the loading sill of the truck: (a)5/18/95, 818 State Route 211 East, Wallkill, NY - Employee was run over when he jumped off a 1983 Mack Garbage Truck (Model #RD690S, Serial # 2M2P264C4NC010686, NY Plate #JC5835, borrowed from Ulster Country Sanitation Inc.) from loading sill while the truck was backing up causing the employee to lose balance, fall on the ground, and the truck to roll over the employee. Feasible abatement methods as noted in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard Z245.1-1992 among others are: 1. Develop written safety procedures for the riding and operation of such trucks according to ANSI Z245.l-1992. 2. Train employees to only stand on the step of the garbage truck when it is in motion and to ride in the cab or stand a safe distance away from the truck and in sight of the driver when the truck is backing up. 3. Train drivers to verify by sight that all other employees are located in a safe location prior to backing up the truck. 4. As the employer's representative on the road, the driver should report to the employer any employee who does not follow the safe operating/riding procedures. 5. The employer should enforce safety procedures with appropriate disciplinary actions for violators and appropriate positive reinforcement for compliance. 6. The employer should conduct no-notice on-site inspections of garbage pick up operations in the field to ensure compliance.