Date of incident: August 2016
Notice of incident number: 2016130750017
Employer: Trucking company; logging contractor; sawmill

Incident summary
A logging truck departed a workplace with a load of logs being transported to a log dump. Shortly after departing, the logging truck was found on a forest service road a short distance from the workplace, overturned and partially blocking the road. The driver of the truck sustained serious injuries that later proved fatal.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Rear wheels of trailer unit left road. A definitive cause of the tractor and trailer overturning cannot be determined, but it is believed that when the driver manoeuvred the truck around the sharp bend in the road, the rear wheels of the trailer unit left the roadway, which caused the trailer to overturn. The tractor unit also overturned, as it was connected to the trailer.

Contributing factors

• Road conditions. The road was wet and slippery at the time of the incident due to a sudden downpour shortly before the incident. The road conditions were known to the driver, as he had been advised by another driver to drive slowly due to the conditions.
• Driver experience. The driver had a Class 1 driver’s licence with air-brake endorsement, but he had limited experience operating a logging truck and driving on a forest service road. Although he was cautious when it came to operating the tractor unit, he had only been operating a logging truck for a few weeks at the time of the incident, having recently returned to the industry.
• Driver not wearing seat belt. The driver was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the incident. As a result, he was thrown from the driver’s seat to the floor of the tractor when the tractor unit overturned and came to rest on its passenger side. The driver sustained serious injuries from being thrown within the tractor unit. His injuries might have been prevented by use of a seat belt.

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