5 Common causes of Dump Truck accidents and how to avoid them
Dump trucks are large, important pieces of plant machinery which are primarily used to transport construction and demolition materials.
Dump trucks can either be forward tipping or rear tipping; rear tipping dump trucks tend to be the larger and more heavy duty option.
However, both types can be dangerous when used improperly. For this reason, in this article we will highlight some common causes of dump truck accidents to help you avoid causing injury during operation.
5 Common causes of Dump Truck accidents
1. Poor visibility when reversing
Many accidents involving dump trucks occur when the truck is reversing and it hits an object, vehicle or person. Especially with rear tipping dump trucks, visibility can be hampered by the truck’s skip, meaning that exceptional care has to be taken when moving backwards.
How to avoid accidents from poor viability when reversing:
To enable safe reversing, using a spotter is a good idea – this is someone who can guide and signal to you regarding the safety of the movement. Some trucks will have a reversing alarm to alert surrounding individuals of the imminent/occurring movement.
2. Overloading and tipping
Dump trucks will have a safe load capacity which shouldn’t be exceeded otherwise the vehicle is at risk of tipping over. Due to the size and large amount of material these vehicles carry, the risk of tipping can become quite high and toppling over can be very dangerous.
How to avoid overloading and tipping your truck:
It is important that the operator is aware of the individual truck’s load capacity and checks that this isn’t exceeded. By keeping within the load capacity, you eliminate the risk of accidents and tipping your truck.
3. Driving on uneven roads and tipping
Although most dump trucks are designed to be used off-road in construction sites, uneven ground and slopes can seriously decrease the truck’s stability. The sheer combined weight of the truck and its load make it more liable to upturning if it hits uneven terrain or if it’s pushed up too harsh a gradient.
How to avoid tipping on uneven roads:
To increase safety, dump trucks should be operated on flat and even ground as far as possible, especially when loading and unloading. Furthermore, you should consult manufacturer’s guidelines to determine the gradient the truck is able to manoeuvre on to successfully to avoid overturning.
4. Driving with the skip tipped
As silly as it sounds, there are many accidents when people have forgotten to lower the skip. There are several videos online of people spreading materials from a moving truck, with the skip tipped – this is actually quite dangerous as the truck could fall backwards. As a sudden, or gradual decrease in weight could cause the truck to become off-balance.
A dump truck is not designed to be driven when the skip part is in the inclined, tipped position. When the skip is tipped, the vehicle isn’t as steady and if movement is encouraged at this point the truck can easily become unbalanced and tip over.
How to avoid skip accidents:
When moving, the skip should be completely lowered to create stability. Equally, when tipping out materials from the skip, the truck should be stationary.
5. Inexperienced drivers
Here at Euro 1 Training, we can not stress enough the fact that all plant machinery drives should be full training.
Untrained and inexperienced drivers of heavy machinery, such as dump trucks, pose a great danger to themselves and those around them. Without training, best practice, safety regulations and correct operating procedures will not be known or adhered to which can often lead to accidents and injuries – with such large plant machinery this can easily be fatal.
How to avoid accidents from untrained or inexperienced drivers:
It is of the utmost importance that operators are therefore trained and competent. They should also be familiar with the vehicle and able to carry out safety checks on the truck. Check out our Dump Truck Training if you, a colleague or employee needs training!
The team at Euro 1 Training are experts in plant machinery, allowing us to offer a wide variety of certified training courses for machinery ranging from dump trucks and forklifts to LGVs. Our professional course leaders all have industry experience, so you can rest assured that you are getting high quality, practice-led training.
Based in Doncaster, our services can be organised around your current commitments and extend to clients in Sheffield, Wakefield, Goole and the surrounding areas. For further information, get in touch today.