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

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 ejected from and/or crushed by a vehicle when operated without a seatbelt: On or about January 22, 2009 and times prior to with respect to the Truck Shop located at 27803 Hwy 44 S, Elaine, AR. 72333. A truck shop laborer was assigned the task of washing and performing maintenance on the Polaris Ranger Series 11 Utility Task Vehicle (UTV). To perform the task of washing the UTV the employee had to drive the UTV from the truck shop to the wash rack and back. The employee was not given any training on the proper use of the UTV and was not required to wear the factory installed seat belt. The employee had an accident and rolled the UTV over and was partially ejected causing fatal injuries. One feasible means of abatement would be to have all UTV operators read the operators manual prior to operation to be aware of the warnings and safety features, and to wear the factory-provided seat belt when operating the vehicle.g