Pickup Truck Leveled By Earth-Mover

A pick-up driver was on his way to work for the evening shift at a road construction site. He was running slightly late, which was unusual for him, as he was a punctual, dependable and experienced worker. He was driving his own vehicle through the highway construction site, which was about 50 to 60 feet wide, plowed and sanded.

He had been following the heavy duty road scraper for several miles. The scraper slowed down and pulled over to the extreme left side of the road. The pickup truck speeded up and attempted to pass on the right. At the same time, the scraper turned right to enter a small access road on the right side of the highway.

The pickup was crushed down to the wheel level. The driver died instantly. The operator of the earth-moving machine had seen the headlights behind him, but assumed it was his foreman who would stay behind. The pickup driver apparently assumed the earth-moving machine was pulling over to let him pass. He did not know about the existence of the small access road in the area because it had been built when he was off shift. The driver of the heavy equipment could not see the pickup passing him because of a blind spot in the field of vision from the cab.

Making assumptions about anything is dangerous practice. In this case, it was fatal for the driver to assume the earth-mover was pulling over to let him pass. This incident also points out the tendency to take chances when in a hurry. The driver might have been more careful if he hadn’t been trying to get to work fast. Remember this next time you are tempted to pass when unsafe or to jump a stop light when you are late for work. This fatality also serves as a reminder of the need for extreme caution around heavy machinery. Chances are it is not equipped with turn signals and the driver cannot see you.