Logging Safety

BACKGROUND: A trucker was hauling treelength softwood approximately nine miles in from paved road on a company logging road in northern New England. It was about 9:00 AM on a clear but cold day in late January. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The driver had at least 20...

BACKGROUND: A log truck left the landing fully loaded with hardwood pulpwood on a mild fall morning in the Appalachians. It was overcast, windy, and wet, following three days of rain. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The driver was in his early 50s and had over 20 years of...

BACKGROUND: A log truck had just been unloaded in the woodyard of a paper mill in the Northeast, and the trucker drove it to the designated clean-off area to remove debris from the trailer bed. It was a warm, wet January day with melting snow and water on the...

BACKGROUND: A skidder operator was skidding bunched pine in the Lake States. Weather conditions were good, and the ground was flat. It was nearing quitting time, and the operator was expected to attend his son's little league baseball game. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS:...

BACKGROUND: A timber cutter was felling a 20-inch-diameter, 100-foot-tall poplar on a 40 percent slope on a summer day in the Appalachians. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The 47-year-old timber cutter had been working as a logger for at least 20 years. He had apparently...

BACKGROUND: A log truck driver was driving his loaded truck one spring day in the South. Weather was not a factor in the accident. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The truck driver was experienced and in good health. UNSAFE ACT OR CONDITION: The driver was crossing railroad...