Mining safety alert on vehicle interaction

The Mines Inspectorate of the Department of Mines and Energy in Queensland issued a safety alert after the driver of a Toyota Landcruiser was injured when he collided with a Cat 789 rear dump truck at a mine ramp intersection.

The rear wheels of the truck ran over and crushed the front and passenger side of the Landcruiser, inflicting non-life-threatening injuries on the driver, who required cutting equipment to free him from the vehicle.

The incident was re-enacted with the truck and a light vehicle approaching the intersection at similar speeds. Although the intersection had unimpeded visibility, the combination of the ramp grade, the slight angle of the haul road as it intersects the main outer road intersection and the converging speeds of both vehicles placed the light vehicle behind the ‘A’ pillar of the ‘roll over protection’ cab, where it was not visible to the dump truck driver.

The Mines Inspectorate recommends performing a risk assessment on all intersections on each mine site to identify and remove any identified hazards at the earliest opportunity. Where access roads are at a slight angle, the intersection should be redesigned to ensure access is only gained from a right angle, with bunding installed to force right-angle entry until the redesign and construction takes place.

The Inspectorate also recommends all vehicles working in these environments be fitted with proximity detection devices.