HSE calls for tipper warning
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by Miles Brignall • The Health & Safety Executive is calling for warning notices to be made compulsory on tippers following the death of a driver working beneath an unpropped load.
The HSE is understood to be asking the Department of Transport to take action following the death of Birminghambased Coleman Plant Hire tipper driver Arthur Simmons, who was crushed while working on his Foden truck's gears last summer.
He stopped at the 346 junction with the A446 in Coleshill because of difficulties with the gearbox and raised the body by a metre to reach the problem area.
After prodding the gear linkage with a pole, Simmons called out to a colleague who was sitting in the cab to lower the body. As he did so, it fell down on to Simmons.
Returning a verdict of accidental death, Warwickshire coroner Michael Coker said there had obviously been a terrible misunderstanding between the two drivers. He called for notices to be put on all tippers warning of the dangers.
West Midlands HSE Special Inspector David Arnsby says that anyone working beneath a raised tipper body should ensure it has been correctly propped to prevent this type of accident.