We had an accident here about ten years ago that still makes me think everytime I am under a truck. It was a driver of a log truck, he had just load his truck and started down the road , when he got to the main road he pulled over and decided to adjust his brakes. He got out and layed down if front of the tires and proceeded to adjust the brakes. Well you can imagine what happened, the truck rolled and killed him. At the time I was also driving log truck and this accident happened about 1/3 of a mile from my house, so in a small town the rumor mill got started and next thing I knew I was getting a call from family saying that they thought it was me. To their relief it wasn't. Now I knew the driver of the truck real well, and it surprised me that he did this sort of thing, cause I always knew him to be very safety concious. Just goes to show that even the most safety conscious people need reminding once in a while.
A lot of accidents like this happen because people are in to big of a rush. No doubt that guy knew the procedure for adjusting his brakes, as he probably did it many times. He just forgot the most important thing..chock the wheels. As well other things could have been on his mind that day making him forget. If everyone would just take the time to really think about what they are doing, maybe there would be less accidents around equipment. I know...easier said than done... Sad story
safety first
I have a similar story from over 20 years ago. A trucker who was contracted by a local aggregate packaging plant broke down just outside their yard. They sent out a wheel loader to tow him in so he could dump his load. Once inside, the driver set his trolley brake to go out and unhook the chain from the loader. From the time the engine quit to when he was up at the loader unhooking the chain, enough air had bled out to where the trolley didn't hold the truck any longer. While the driver had his back to the truck, it crept up and crushed him between it and the loader. He was killed instantly.
A person has to get in the habit of doing simple things like wheel chocks. Life can end so quickly from a simple mistake Any time I adjust brakes on the truck I put a block inbettween the tandems get back into the truck then release the brakes and let the truck roll against the block. I usually block both sides. I'am a little bit of a safety nut to start with but I do slip a little and do things that I shouldn't.
I made the mistake of crawling under a truck without checking to see if he had properly chocked it..it fell on me.luckily i only bruised some ribs.been under a 100 vehicles never a worry..now it bothers me to get under.
We had a similar incident here about a year ago. A transfer driver stopped to adjust his brakes on the side of the road in a "flat" area just before a long downhill. No chocks, it rolled and killed him. I have a habit of always leaving it in 1st gear whenever I leave the truck, and when adjusting brakes I use a chock and leave it in gear.