How Can We Retrofit Seat Belts in Heavy Vehicles to Prevent Accidents Like This?

Incident Report

Please find an incident detailed below.

IP Details:

- Name: Sh. ABC, Employee
- Age: 43 years
- Position: LPDT (Low Proficiency Dumper Truck) Operator
- Experience: 3 years

- Location: 315 mRL / near North Ramp Inset

Details of Accident:

While the operator was driving an empty LPDT No.3 from the surface to underground (315 mRL), the LPDT ran over a boulder near the 315 mRL north ramp junction. This caused the operator to bounce on his seat, and his head hit the canopy. Fortunately, there was no external injury due to the helmet.

Root Cause:

- Failure in hazard identification.
- Careless and unsafe driving.

Recommendations:

- The driver should have stopped the vehicle and informed the concerned person to clean the boulder from the passage.
- The driver should avoid taking adventurous actions.

It was suggested that a seat belt could have prevented the injury.

Kindly suggest how we can provide seat belts, as the heavy vehicles currently do not have them. Also, suggest any vendor who can install seat belts in existing vehicles, or what can be done to provide seat belts in existing heavy vehicles.

Regards,
Hansa Vyas

I am not currently working in India; however, seat belts are mandatory for all heavy equipment in most countries. It is very important not to jump out of a vehicle when it rolls over.

Regards,
Sam

First of all, thanks for sharing an incident with us. As per my knowledge, we shouldn't modify or alter anything without the manufacturer's advice as it may cause severe injury, such as with seat belts or seat arrangements in cars.

What I suggest is to write an email to the equipment manufacturer. They will advise or suggest to you the easiest and safest way, which is what I have always followed.

Hope this information helps.

Regards,

As correctly stated by Raghu, you need to involve the vendors in this. The vendors will provide you with the authorized party details for their equipment.

It was a good sharing, and we can also share the same with our employees. Also, it appears that the driver was not sitting firmly on the seat as he had bounced from it. In the absence of a seat belt, I would suggest you provide more awareness to the drivers about their sitting posture and how to behave in case of any bounce. I trust this can raise some awareness.

In the other post, I read about the procurement policy for the vehicles. In our company, we sit, discuss, and provide our requirements to the procurement team. When the order is placed, the procurement team simply updates all the points mentioned by us in the purchase order and gives it to the vendor.

Thank you.

Good morning and thank you for sharing a valuable learning incident. Mr. Raghu has rightly suggested involving the vendor, and we have already taken this step. Please note that we have a corporate policy for the transportation of materials and for employees.

Pioneering Safety Measures

We are proud to mention that we are the first company in our area (Dahej, Gujarat) to have installed seat belts on every seat of vehicles such as buses, Taveras, forklifts, Sumos, etc. It is encouraging to see that people are using them correctly. It is essential to have a corporate policy for vehicles in place.

This information is provided for your awareness and necessary action.

Regards,
Shailesh Mistry
Gujarat.

We were in the process of installing seat belts in Hydra (Mobile Crane). We contacted the manufacturer, and they denied our request, saying they will not do it. They suggested that we may install them on our own in the internal workshop.

However, the best option is always to go through the manufacturer. But I do not think it's essential as it's not a significant technical issue. You have to ensure the services of a good maintenance engineer. That's it.

We install seat belts in Tractors, Back Seats of DI Mahindra Jeeps, Hydras, etc. In all these cases, you can't expect help from the manufacturer.

The purpose is to be solved in the right manner. I don't think providing seat belts will lead to a major issue. Let's think that if anything happens, the seat belt will save a life, instead of thinking that the seat belt will malfunction. Surely, contacting the manufacturer and having them come to install seat belts will take more time than going for localized solutions.

This is my view only. Individuals can adopt their practices as per site/location-specific rules.

Awaiting comments...

Dear Dipil, Thanks for your reply. I was surprised by your response. The manufacturer denied our request? In some cases, the manufacturer may not be able to install safety belts due to company policy, etc. However, they should advise us or refer some vendors for installing safety belts. I want to highlight something: One notable seat belt failure lawsuit resulted in a $6.5 million judgment against Ford Motor Co.

More than 8 million seat belts were implicated in the recall affecting Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Ford, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu, General Motors, Suzuki, Daihatsu, Geo, GM, and Chrysler. (See the attached.)

What I suggest on this matter is that we discuss with the manufacturer (should be via email). If they are unable to do it or do not suggest any vendors, as long as it's documented in an email, it's fine. Then we will fix it on our own. If something happens in the future, our law will protect us and help us claim from the manufacturer. (As a safety professional, I should not say this, but...)

Dear Hansa, It's my suggestion; now the ball is in your court. You will decide. Don't forget to update us; we are very eager to know the result! 

Again, thanks, Dipil!

Dear KVS & Shailesh, Thanks for your inputs.

Regards,

I share what I experienced only... I am not denying your point... Let's wait to hear what Hansa has finally done... Thanks for the attachment and sharing... Keep up the pace...

Thanks for your participation in the thread and for sharing your experience. I know of a case where a person's life was saved because the dumper operator was wearing a seat belt. The dumper overturned from a ramp 13 meters high and landed on the ground floor in a tire-up position. However, the operator escaped without even a scratch.

Keep on sharing and keep up the pace.