One of our surveyors was tragically run over and killed by a grader whilst doing earthworks for a carpark at Karratha Airport.
Guys (and Gals), please take care out there!!!
> One of our surveyors was tragically run over and killed by a grader whilst doing earthworks for a carpark at Karratha Airport.
That is truly sad to read. One of my ambitions in later life is *not* to be killed by construction machinery while surveying. I wonder if the grader operator was distracted by his RTK machine control display to the point that he wasn't paying attention to what else was going on.
Karratha Airport Accident Kills Surveyor
Not much more on this link than the original post provided. A sad, sad day, for sure.
I had a crew call me yesterday. They had witnessed a 5 car pile-up that sent a boat and a motorcyclist airborne. The police were taking their statements.
Everybody keep yer eyes and ears open. Nobody needs to get to that Big Traverse in the Sky before their time.
Sorry to hear about this. From my construction days I can say that I had a few near misses. Usually because I had heard the backup alarm for enough years that it became background noise.
This is terrible news. My thoughts & prayers go out to the family. Gotta have eyes in the back of your head sometimes. It seems like it's impossible to eliminate these kind of accidents 100% of the time though.
"Usually because I had heard the backup alarm for enough years that it became background noise."
:good:
It happens here too. 🙁
Orlando, Florida. September 12, 2014
Florida Highway Patrol troopers are investigating a fatal crash involving an Orange County utility truck that killed a surveyor on Friday morning.
Troopers said Chad Dixon, 38, was kneeling down in the road on Waterford Creek Boulevard at 8:45 a.m. in front of his stopped vehicle to mark a spot for a survey.
The driver of the truck drove around the stopped vehicle and didn't see Dixon in the road, according to the report.
The driver struck Dixon and ran over him, troopers said. Dixon was taken to Florida Hospital East, where he died.
The crash is under investigation and charges are pending against the driver.
I think Paul the Irishman was still working in Perth area.
Terrible to hear about that. It almost happened to me once.
A grader operator was going up the "new" road they were putting in and I was setup right where it T'd to the main road. I was all busy with gun and field notes when my PC, Tony, and our other partner, Karen, start yelling at me. His motor quit and he was out of control and coming down hill backwards right me and the setup. I'm not normally to be a "deer in the headlights" so to speak, but I was that time. It was like slow motion video. Right before he got to me he pulled an awesome J-turn (old school it's called the Alabama bootleg backwards). He got it stopped ok. I ran up to him asking if he was alright and he's asking me if I was alright. Amazing how super-quick you can become really good friends with someone. That was a 460 acre site so we might go days without seeing any of the road builders. No big deal. Then we get pulled off that job for another for a few weeks. We came back and I ask about him. He was dead. 25 years old, wife and one child.
Hearing about that and the details about broke my heart. If he hadn't have snapped that turn, we'd probably both be dead.
My prayers go to his family with all my heart.
Glad to hear that you had other crew members to warn you about the danger. We NEVER send anyone to a jobsite solo - it's simply not safe.
I'm only still here because my PC yanked me out from under the wheels of a water truck that nearly backed over me while I was setting a hub. My bill cap blocked my peripheral view and I never saw or heard it coming. The driver was oblivious to my presence. To this day I leave my bill cap in the truck on construction sites.
My heart goes out to the family of the deceased. Please be careful out there. A moment of diverted attention is all it takes.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
I'm very sorry for you and for the surveyor's family. We can certainly never be careful enough around heavy equipment.
I was on a site once where a father and his young son drove up on an atv behind a dozer. The operator didn't see them and backed up. The father was able to jump and run, but the son was not. It was a very sad day.
I personally had an inattentive driver coming down the shoulder of the interstate at 70 miles per hour directly toward me. He saw me at the very last moment and swerved away. No harm was done but he was close enough that I saw the shock in his eyes.