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Phoenix FEDEX Death

slavenomore

slavenomore

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May he rest in peace. Prayers go out to his family. Sad story.
FedEx worker dies after being pinned between 2 truck trailers in Phoenix | Phoenix News | Arizona News | azfamily.com | Phoenix News

PHOENIX -- A 37-year-old Federal Express employee died after being pinned between two truck trailers in Phoenix Friday morning.

According to Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson, the man was hooking up two FedEx truck trailers in the shipping yard near 51st Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road when apparently one of the vehicles shifted. The two trailers jackknifed, pinning the man between the two trailers.

Sometime later, a co-worker came out and found the man. It is not known how long he was trapped.

Phoenix Fire Department personnel responded, but the victim had died of his injuries.

The Phoenix Police Department Vehicular Crimes Unit and members of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating the incident.


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This is indeed a terrible thing to have happened. Condolences to the family and co-workers. Can anyone tell me how this could have happened? Drivers hook up sets by the thousands every day---what was different here?
 
45 years driving before my retirement,I hooked up sets all of the time.
However I never ever had one roll out on me.
Maybe this poor driver got in a hurry and forgot to seat his brakes?
Guess we will never know how something like this could have happened?
May he rest in peace.
 
Possibly either forgot to set his brakes, or he was hooking up an older trailer that doesn't have a duel brake chamber so it may have rolled without a spring locking system. Either way you look at it it's bad.
 
One other note if it was an equipment defect,that should come up as well.
In that case this drivers family could file a law suite and more than likely settle out of court,for the loss of his pay check if he was still working.
 
I am wondering if this truck had a automatic transmission???

If he forgot to set the brakes and he went back to hook up his airlines turned the air on to the rear box causing the whole unit to roll free and pinning him.

This deal with the super singles is BS to me with the air ride... the guy I work for wants me to air the bags up on the dolly to hook the back box... I just lower the trailer to hook.... then hook and turn on all the air after.

The bottom line is the tractor brakes must not have been set...obviously the trailer brakes were off to check the airlines were hook properly and to see if there was air to the rear of the back box.

This is just my opinion of what could of happen... not trying to upset anyone here.
 
I agree completely. FedEx's trucks are not old trucks for the most part. It most likely comes down to their push for production over safety (even though they talk alot about safety and have their workers sign a lot of forms after they talk about it). There was another driver death in Portland, Oregon last week where the driver forgot to set his brake and his driving partner's head was crushed between the truck and the dock.
 
Most trucking companies have very complete safety programs in place.
As well as most trucking companies push their workers as much as they feel they can get away with.

I know this first hand from being a former UPS Freight driver.
UPS has one of the best safety plans in the industry with the Smith system.

However the bottom line is with all the safety they preach,if you do something unsafe it is always on you,you are the one that will suffer any negative recourse for your actions.
The companies can try to push as much as they want,but don't ever go beyond your own judgment cutting corners to comply,because you are the only one who will pay in the end.

As a UPS Freight safety trainer I was always harping on this very issue.
Do your best however do not go beyond your own judgment when it comes to being safe or not.
If you mess up,they will just use the next person on the list to meet their needs.
 
Apostolic said:
Most trucking companies have very complete safety programs in place.
As well as most trucking companies push their workers as much as they feel they can get away with.

I know this first hand from being a former UPS Freight driver.
UPS has one of the best safety plans in the industry with the Smith system.

However the bottom line is with all the safety they preach,if you do something unsafe it is always on you,you are the one that will suffer any negative recourse for your actions.
The companies can try to push as much as they want,but don't ever go beyond your own judgment cutting corners to comply,because you are the only one who will pay in the end.

As a UPS Freight safety trainer I was always harping on this very issue.
Do your best however do not go beyond your own judgment when it comes to being safe or not.
If you mess up,they will just use the next person on the list to meet their needs.
Click to expand...

I agree with what you have posted here, Apostolic. I will point out that I have worked at companies that have cut big corners, including letting non CDL licensed dockworkers move tractors and trailer around the yards with non employee public access and even down a public street to a secondary yard.

These were not Freight companies but outfits that hauled thirty own products. The point I am making is that sometimes employees do what they are told knowing that they are breaking the rules since management allowed it not knowing that if the worst happens the ball is in their pocket not management.

Sent from my SPH-M900 using Tapatalk
 
Some of these deaths occur when the man standing between the trailers is killed when partner is backing dolly under rear trailer and hits it too hard knocking dolly sideways and crushing the man between trailers.
 
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