The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has shown a remarkable video of a Turkish man who was involved in a level crossing incident and survived.
Initially it is difficult to identify the man from the aerial perspective but the side view shows clearly how lucky the man is.
It is not the policy of SafetyAtWorkBlog to show gratuitous videos with no point. That is a role, it seems, for the internet generally. However this video has instructional uses beyond the “gosh” factor.
It is worth looking at the video and considering the following issues
- Rail location
- Visibility of truck driver
- Isolation of pedestrians from rail and vehicular traffic
- Signage
There are many other issues that could be pertinent but are not identified in the video, such as administrative policies, compliance, even behavioural safety.
In this instance it is highly unlikely that the worker complementing the hard hat with a high visibility vest would have made much difference to the outcome. But then an unfastened vest may have presented its own non-visibility hazard as a catch point for the wheel structure of the truck as it passed over him.
Please note that it is his survival which makes this video of interest but there are clear safety improvements to be made.