Forklift operator killed when driver pulls away from dock

To many have been killed and or seriously hurt because the truck driver moved their truck before it was loaded and or unloaded. Those loading and or unloading the truck, their life is valuable too, and worth protecting.

 

I had to pick up a load about 10 miles north of the Turnpike in NY, after the toll, I got stuck behind another of our company trucks.
He didn't have a cb, or a GPS, he slowed to almost a stop at every side road to read the sign, ugghhhh.
He finally turned on the same road as I needed.
We both backed into docks, and watched them come out and give another driver his papers and had him pull up to seal his trailer.
He told me how he didn't need a GPS or a cb, then we heard his dock plate raise up, (no dock lights)
He pulled forward and you could see the WTF look on the dock guys face....he was going to set the last two pallets of empty cans on the end of the trailer and had to Get the plate out of the way.

 

Too many? It's not exactly an epidemic. I'm a tanker driver and I get asked for my keys sometimes but the thing is I have the spare in my pocket, what driver gives up all the keys to what is essentially his house? Safety is important no doubt but it gets taken too far. All you have to do is pull the red line off, simple and the driver can stay in the truck and catch a nap which will result in far more safety than your plan ever would. Don't be reactionary, it was an accident. No reason to go overboard.

 

For most people the life of another person is worth much, and its worth giving up their truck keys, not setting in their truck while its being loaded, to keep a person from getting killed and or seriously hurt.

Yet for some the life of another person is not worth that to them, all they think or care about is their self.

 

So because I don't give up all or my keys or wish to sleep in my truck i don't care about other people's life? Really now? I'll do some Yoga stretches too. Why do you want tired truckers on the road?

 

I doubt anyone thinks being able to sit in their truck is worth more than another persons life.

There are many options that can keep the forklift operator safe without locking the driver out of his/her truck.

If they're going to be more than a half hour they should choose a different option IMO. Dock locks, air line locks, have the driver unhook and put on a king pin lock if overly paranoid all work.

 

I've sat in many a driver lounges and never met another driver who gave up all his keys or thought he was saving a life by being forced in the room.

 

I have 1 customer that I go to (GM)..... back into the dock, chock both sides, unhook the truck and pull out 10ft, jack stand under the trailer, lock the truck and walk inside and give them the keys.... I have 3 stops at that plant and have to do it 3 times......

 

That is some safety guy trying to justify his paycheck. Completely useless, things like this gives safety a bad name. It's why drivers rill their eyes and daydream during safety meetings. I have to watch safety videos all the time before I go into a plant. Over the years I've been forced to watch over a hundred of them and I haven't actually watched a single one. Like I'm supposed to remember every video for every plant.

 

I totally disagree with your viewpoint on this one, OHB. Of course nobody wants to be responsible for seeing someone hurt or killed. But some of this stuff is totally bogus.
Glad hand locks? Dock locks? Chocking the tires? Making you drop your trailer and put a jack under it? All of those things make sense.
Making the driver give you a key, which more than likely won't even BE a key to the truck he is driving, and get out of the truck and come inside, is just redundant bull crap.
FWIW, I do believe in safety. Absolutely. But I don't believe in all the BS that some of these outfits make you go through.

Actually, you only need to remember the video for the plant you are at. You're gonna have to watch it again the next time you are there.
Bragging about never watching one, is leaving yourself open to a whole lot of grief, should you be unlucky enough to have some type of issue on their property, covered by their safety films.

I used to drop and pick at a hazmat plant. They had some nasty stuff there. I mean REAL nasty stuff. They insisted that you have rubber over boots on, that you wear long trousers, no shorts, and long sleeve shirts. I only had to watch their film quarterly, and one time made an offhand comment to the security guard about what BS this was, and that some safetycrat was justifying his job. That was on the way in.
On the way out, the safetycrat had me come into his office, and showed me some pictures of plant accidents, that never made it into the regular safety films. Let's just say that I was convinced.
This was the same outfit that had that huge explosion and fire in Henderson NV back in the mid nineties. Don't know if Henderson kicked them out, or if NV kicked them out. But they made their way to Iron County Utah, west of Cedar City.
After seeing some of those pictures, I really wish they had gone elsewhere.