Truck Spotting

A Few Thoughts on Truck Spotting

More than a quarter of all large vehicle accidents can be attributed to backing up. Over the last 10 years, hundreds of workers have lost their lives in backover incidents and thousands more have been injured.

In the book "Risk Analysis and Security Countermeasure Selection, Second Edition, by Thomas Norman, the author suggests that there are two main ways to minimize risk: Eliminate or mitigate the hazard so the accident cannot occur; or modify the behavior of the person, machine, or thing initiating the triggering event so that the accident will not occur.

Limiting the backing of vehicles when personnel and other vehicles are present is an example of mitigating the risk of backovers. Adding spotters who have been trained in spotting and trained with the drivers in the use of spotting techniques is an example of modifying the behavior of the triggering event.

Part of the training should include how to analyze an area before commencing backup. When backup is to take place near places that workers frequent it is wise to add additional personnel to the stop pedestrian traffic, but at the very least the spotter should know what to look for, such as toilets, food carts, water cooler, and other places employees would frequently walk to and from.

Spotters should also learn to watch for signs of worker distraction such as the plugging of the ears or looking to the ground. They may be on the phone, listening to music, concentrating on a task, etc. For example, workers who are concentrating on repairs are often not paying attention to things going on around them. During shift changes, backing up vehicles should be highly discouraged, but if it cannot be avoided, spotters should be extra diligent.

When one vehicle uses a spotter, ensure all vehicles use spotters. If they don 't, the spotter becomes a target for other vehicles backing up. Put another way, who is spotting the spotter?