. FATALFacts No. 1 - 2012 

Oil Patch 

U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration www.osha.gov (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 

ACCIDENT SUMMARY 

Accident Type: ........................................................................Vehicle, Highway 

Weather Conditions/Time of Day: .................................................. Wet/Night 

Type of Operation:..................................... Rig crew driving home after shift 

Size of Work Crew: ..............................................................................................4 

Worksite Inspection Conducted by Employer: .........................................N/A 

Competent Safety Monitoring on Site: ......................................................N/A 

Safety and Health Program in Effect: ........................................................ Yes 

Training and Education for Employees: ..................................................... Yes 

Job Title of Deceased Employees: ............................................ Not reported 

Age/Sex of Deceased Workers: (Worker 1; Worker 2) ............... 34/M; 32/M 

Time on Job: ................................................................... 8 years; Not reported 

Short Service Employee (< 1 year): ....................................No; Not reported 

Time at Task: 12-hour shift + 1 hour driving; 12-hour shift + 1 hour riding 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT 

Four workers were in a six-passenger pickup truck driving on a twolane blacktop paved road. These workers were traveling home after 

their shift. It was night and the road was wet. The driver approached 

a left-hand curve at an unsafe speed and failed to negotiate the 

curve. The truck went into a skid and onto the unimproved shoulder, 

rolled over fve times, and came to rest in an upright position off the 

roadway. The driver and one of the rear passengers were ejected as 

the truck rolled over and they were killed. The two coworkers that 

remained in the vehicle during the rollover sustained minor injuries. 

Only one person out of the four was wearing a seat belt. The speed 

limit on the curve was 40 mph (dry conditions), and the truck was 

determined to have been traveling at 47 mph. 

ACCIDENT PREVENTION 

1. Require employees to wear seat belts when they are traveling in 

company vehicles. 

2. Develop and implement a company vehicle safety program for all 

employees, e.g., supervisors, crew members, sales personnel, etc. 

3. Instruct employees to comply with all highway safety regulations 

and to reduce driving speed during inclement weather and when 

road conditions have deteriorated. 

4. Stress to employees that operating vehicles while fatigued is 

dangerous to themselves, their passengers, and others that may 

encounter their vehicle. Make sure that employees understand 

that management does not want them driving if they are too 

fatigued to drive safely. 

5. Ensure vehicles are properly maintained, e.g., brakes, tire 

pressure, etc. 

Photo by Robert Falcione © 2009 HopNews.com 

You Have a Voice in the Workplace 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act 

of 1970 affords workers the right to a safe 

workplace (see OSHA’s Worker Rights page, 

www.osha.gov/workers.html). Workers also 

have the right to fle a complaint with OSHA 

if they believe that there are either violations 

of OSHA standards or serious workplace 

hazards. 

How OSHA Can Help 

For questions or to get information or 

advice, to report an emergency, report a 

fatality or catastrophe, or to fle a 

confdential complaint, contact your nearest 

OSHA offce, visit www.osha.gov or call our 

toll-free number at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), 

TTY 1-877-889-5627. It’s confdential. 

More Information 

Upstream oil and gas safety and health: 

www.osha.gov/SLTC/oilgaswell 

drilling/index.html 

OSHA standards and regulations: 

www.osha.gov/law-regs.html 

OSHA publications: 

www.osha.gov/publications 

OSHA’s free On-site Consultation services: 

www.osha.gov/consultation 

Training resources: 

www.osha.gov/dte/index.html 

Note: The described case was selected as being representative of improper work 

practices which likely contributed to a fatality from an accident. The accident 

prevention recommendations do not necessarily refect the outcome of any legal 

aspects of the incident case. OSHA encourages your company or organization to 

duplicate and share this information. 

DEP FF-3614 12/2012