Truck roll-away (10 January 2020)
A 51-year-old man was crushed by his truck in Marsden Park when it rolled down a slope as he was fitting a dog-trailer to it. It’s the second serious truck roll-away incident in NSW in the past seven months.
The Investigation
- SafeWork NSW inspectors responded to the incident.
- SafeWork NSW commenced an investigation to determine the cause and circumstances of the incident.
Safety information
Consider ‘reasonably practicable’ control measures to manage the risks associated with uncontrolled movements (e.g. roll-aways) of vehicles, including cars, trucks, buses, vans, forklifts, tractors, mobile cranes and the like.
Make sure you:
- park the vehicle on level ground, or be aware of the limitations of the vehicle and what to do when parking on a gradient
- apply the parking brake when you get out of the vehicle
- have the vehicle inspected and maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommendations
- know the limitations of the braking system and what may cause the brakes to release
- consider installing seat-sensor interlocked brakes, a fail-safe braking system or anything that will prevent uncontrolled movements of the vehicle
- install an alarm system, or implement operating procedures or other low-level controls if you can’t use engineering controls
- when acquiring vehicles, consider options that eliminate or minimise the risk of uncontrolled movements
- develop site-specific parking locations and procedures in consultation with workers
- train your workers
- monitor and review control measures.
Further information
You can also refer to the following guidance materials: