A driver was finished on an asphalt surfacing site and had a small amount of material left over. He was instructed by a site representative to return to the yard and level the material out to fill some potholes.
The usual procedure is to return these materials to the quarry site to a designated area for reprocessing. The driver returned to the yard and had seen a pile of material that appeared to have been tipped there previously. No material had been tipped here but had been pushed up previously by a front loader. This section of the yard was never used before for tipping and was only a drive through route for longer vehicles. The driver tipped up beside the material in this area and shunted forwarded. He did not strike the lines. The electricity (400v) arced from the lines to the lorry due to the damp and wet weather conditions. This caused the lines to weld together then break. The driver remained in the lorry, lowered the body and moved safely away from the area.
The driver was not hurt and the vehicle was not damaged.
Contributing Factor
- Instructions provided to the driver from the site representative deviated from the standard procedure.
- Site representative did not seek clarification that it would be acceptable to return material to the main yard as opposed to the quarry as is standard practice.
- The driver assumed that the material in the yard was tipped there previously without seeking confirmation.
- The risk of tipping in the area had not been previously considered.
- The driver was aware how to react in this situation due to information provided during his induction.