NIOSH Investigates Line-of-Duty Death, Issues Safe Driving Recommendations
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issued a report late last year after conducting a comprehensive investigation of an unwitnessed single-car crash that resulted in the death of a Kansas fire captain/safety officer en route to a fire.
Although it is assumed that wet road conditions were to blame, a safety and occupational health specialist from the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program was unable to determine exactly what caused the 53-year-old career officer to lose control of his vehicle the night of November 17, 2003. In the absence of substantiation of any cause, including driver error, vehicle condition and maintenance factors, the program provided recommendations for good safety practices in its Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Investigative Report #F2004-03, in hopes of minimizing the risk of similar tragedies in the future.
While targeted to fire departments, these standard operating guidelines (SOGs) apply to all emergency response services:
1. Defensive driving training should be provided to all emergency vehicle operators, addressing:
- Anticipating other drivers' actions
- Visual lead time
- Braking and reaction time
- Combating skids
- Evasive tactics
- Weight transfer
2. Training and certification in emergency vehicle operations should be required.
3. SOGs for the safe operation of emergency vehicles should be developed and implemented.
4. A vehicle inspection, maintenance and repair schedule, including verification of appropriate action on all manufacturer notifications, should be developed and documented.
The NIOSH report provided an additional recommendation directed toward manufacturers who often limit the recipients of safety notices:
"Additionally, vehicle manufacturers should ensure that the distribution of safety recall notifications is not limited in scope, and is inclusive of all affected owner/users."
For more, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/firehome.html, or call 800/35-NIOSH.
--KR
