ANDREW M. CUOMO

Governor

HOWARD A. ZUCKER, M.D., J.D.

Commissioner

SALLY DRESLIN, M.S., R.N.

Executive Deputy Commissioner

FATALITY ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL EVALUATION 

 

Operator of a Trailer Tipper Fatally Struck 

by a Tractor Trailer at a Landfill 

Case Report 16NY009

CASE SUMMARY

On February 6, 2016, a 55-year-old equipment operator (victim) was killed while operating a trailer 

tipper at a landfill. The trailer tipper in this case had a movable platform that could hold, raise, and tilt 

a trailer to over 60 degrees and discharge the refuse through its rear doors (Photo 1). To get on the 

tipper, a tractor trailer had to back onto the trailer tipper deck. The communication between a tipper 

operator and a delivery driver was through a designated CB radio channel. The incident occurred on a 

Saturday at around 11 AM when the victim was operating the tipper and the last tractor trailer was 

getting ready to back onto the tipper. The trailer was hauled by a military surplus tractor (“army truck”, 

Photo 4). The “army truck” did not have a backup alarm and its radio was broken so there was no radio 

communication between the victim and the truck driver. At the time of the incident, the victim exited 

the operator’s cab of the tipper and walked to the other side of the deck where the hydraulic controls 

for the tipper outrigger cylinders were located. He was wearing a high visibility vest. A landfill 

bulldozer operator stated that he saw the victim standing on the deck leaning over the outrigger 

controls. Meanwhile the “army truck” was backing onto the trailer deck. The bulldozer operator yelled 

into his CB radio to stop the delivery driver from backing onto the tipper; the “army truck” driver 

heard nothing since the truck radio was broken. The bulldozer operator could not warn the victim since 

the CB radio was inside the operator’s cab and the victim could not hear the radio once he was outside 

the cab. The “army truck” driver did not see the victim and he continued backing onto the tipper deck. 

The victim was run over by the rear wheels of the trailer on the passenger side suffering fatal crushing 

injuries. The bulldozer operator got to the front of the tipper to signal the driver who stopped the truck. 

The bulldozer operator immediately called 911. EMTs responded and arrived at the site within 

minutes, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. 

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS 

• The tipper operator and the “army truck” driver could not communicate with each other 

because the truck’s radio was broken. 

• The tipper operator left the operator’s cab and was on the deck while the “army truck” was 

backing onto the tipper.

• The delivery truck driver backed the tractor trailer onto the deck without knowing/seeing that 

the tipper operator was on the deck. 

• The bulldozer operator could not warn the tipper operator because he could not communicate 

with the tipper operator once he was out of the operator’s cab. 

• The “army truck” did not follow the standard operating procedure at the landfill. 
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KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

• Landfill employers should implement measures to prevent tractor trailers from backing onto 

the tipper deck when a tipper operator is on the deck. 

• Landfill employers should provide additional communication methods for the equipment 

operators and other pedestrian workers who work around heavy mobile equipment. 

• Landfill employers should require that all visiting vehicles have the important safety features 

such as properly working CB radios and backup alarms. 

• Landfill employers should develop and implement a standard operating procedure (SOP) to 

ensure the safety of the tipper operators. 

• Landfill employers should develop and implement a comprehensive landfill waste disposal 

policy to ensure the safety of landfill employees and customers. 

• Landfill employers should provide training to ensure that workers understand and follow the 

SOP at the working face and the landfill waste disposal policy. 

• Solid waste trucking companies should follow the landfill safety policy and ensure that the 

vehicles meet the landfill’s safety requirements and their employees follow the landfill safety 

policy. 

One hydraulic cylinder on 

each side of the tipper 

platform to raise and tip 

the trailer

Tilted tipper platform 

with a trailer emptying 

the waste through its 

rear doors

Base of the 

trailer tipper

Trailer tipper 

backstop 

Photo 1. A landfill trailer tipper is tipping a trailer and emptying the waste through the trailer’s rear gate by 

gravity.
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INTRODUCTION

On February 6, 2016, a 55-year-old equipment operator (victim) was killed while operating a trailer 

tipper at a landfill. He was fatally crushed by a tractor trailer that was backing onto the tipper. The 

New York State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (NY FACE) staff learned of the incident 

from news media and initiated an investigation. A NY FACE investigator visited the incident site, met 

with the landfill management representative, and observed the trailer tipper operation. The tractor 

trailer was driven by an employee of a subcontractor of a large trucking company. The subcontractor 

was interviewed during the investigation. The case was discussed with the compliance officer of the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) who investigated the incident. This report 

summarizes the findings of the NY FACE investigation. 

The victim worked for a solid waste management company that employed approximately 75 workers 

and operated a landfill of 2,500 acres. The landfill handled approximately 6,000 tons of non-hazardous 

solid waste daily and received waste from residences, businesses, and municipalities. Two thirds of the 

employees were equipment operators and the rest were laborers, mechanics, and office workers. The 

company provided weekly tailgate trainings, daily safety reminders, and mobile equipment safety 

training to the field employees. The workers were required to wear high visibility vests or jackets, steel 

toed boots, gloves, safety glasses, hard hats, and ear plugs. 

The victim worked for the landfill for a total of seven years including two years as a temporary 

employee. He was an equipment operator in the department of waste operations. He received task 

specific training on how to operate a trailer tipper and a trash compactor. 

This was the landfill’s second work related fatality. On February 20, 2002, a truck driver of a trucking 

company was run over by a landfill trash compactor. NY FACE investigated the incident and 

developed the report “Truck Driver Run Over by Trash Compactor at Municipal Landfill” that is 

available at https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/face/docs/02ny007.pdf). 

INVESTIGATION

At the time of the incident, the victim was operating a trailer tipper at a “working face” where waste 

was received, deposited, and compacted. A trailer tipper is a device that raises and tips a trailer and 

empties the trailer by gravity (Photo 1). The essential part of a trailer tipper is a movable platform that 

can be raised and tilted by hydraulic power. In this case, the tipper platform was 9 feet wide and 40 

feet long and could hold a standard trailer. It was hinged at one end and had one 4-stage hydraulic 

cylinder on each side. The tipper’s hydraulic system was powered by a 100-horsepower diesel engine. 

The tipper cylinders could raise and tilt the deck to over 60 degrees and empty the trailer through its 

rear doors by gravity. 

The base of the tipper had metal railings on both sides and a backstop at the hinged end of the movable 

platform. To get on the tipper, a tractor trailer had to back onto the platform with its rear trailer doors 

facing the hinged end until it hits the backstop. The tipper had six outrigger cylinders to support and 

level the structure. The hydraulic controls for the outrigger cylinders were at the left side of the deck 

when facing the hinged end (Photo 2). The operator only needed to operate the outrigger cylinders 

when setting up the tipper. There was an operator’s cab at the right side of the deck and all the tipper 

controls along with a CB radio were inside the cab (Photo 3). An operator could only hear the CB radio 
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when he was inside the cab. There was no radio communication for a tipper operator once he left the 

cab and was out on the tipper deck. 

Hydraulic controls 

for the outrigger 

cylinders across the 

tipper deck 

Photo 2. Hydraulic controls for the outrigger cylinders were on the left side of the deck and the operator’s 

cab was on the right side. 

The landfill had five tipper operators operating three trailer tippers that were purchased new in 2014. 

These tippers ran approximately five hours a day, each tipping approximately 70 trailers. All tipper 

operators received training from the tipper manufacturer. One or two tippers worked with two 

bulldozers and one landfill compactor at each working face to dump, push, spread, compact, and cover 

the waste. There were usually two active working faces receiving waste at the same time and tippers 

were moved daily to new working faces. 

The tipper operators were responsible for setting up the tippers, conducting a daily inspection at the 

beginning of each shift, and documenting on an inspection form the conditions of the cylinders, pump, 

engine, and hydraulic parts. Throughout the shift, the tipper operators cleaned debris from the deck 

area to help maintain trailer tire traction. At the end of the shift, the tipper operators greased fittings on 

the hydraulics and other parts of the machine. 

When a delivery driver arrived at a working face, he waited in line to get on a tipper. The 

communication between him and a tipper operator was through a designated channel (#3) in Citizen 

Band (CB) Radio. Once the tipper deck was clear, the tipper operator directed the driver to back his 

tractor trailer through a metal ramp onto the tipper deck until the trailer hit the backstop. A standard 

trailer is approximately 102 inches wide. With a trailer parked in the middle of the deck the clearance 

between the trailer and the metal railing was approximately 2 to 3 inches on either side.
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Photo 3. Tipper control panel and a CB radio inside the operator’s cab.

Once on the tipper deck, the driver set the brakes, disengaged the trailer, and disconnected air and 

electrical lines while the tipper operator processed the paperwork. After completion of the paperwork, 

the driver drove the tractor off the ramp before the tipper operator raised, tilted, and emptied the trailer. 

After the trailer was emptied, the driver backed the tractor onto the ramp to hook up the trailer before 

driving off the ramp. According to the landfill management, tipper operators were required to remain 

inside the operator’s cab when a tractor trailer was backing onto or driving off the tipper deck. 

However, this requirement was not in writing. 

A large trucking company trucked municipal waste from New York City to the landfill. Once arriving 

at the landfill, a driver had to go through the landfill process to deposit the waste. First, the driver had 

to go through a radiation detector and a weigh station, then do paper work with a scale operator before 

driving to a working face where the driver may have to wait in line to get on a tipper. After depositing

the waste, the driver had to go through the weigh station again before leaving the landfill. The entire 

process could take up to two hours. To reduce the drivers’ down time, the trucking company purchased

military surplus tractors, referred to as “army trucks” (Photo 4), and hired a local subcontractor to take 

care of the landfill process. 

The subcontractor hired four drivers and started the “army truck” operation approximately ten months 

prior to the incident. The trucking company drivers would drive to a parking lot outside the landfill, 

drop their loaded trailers, immediately pick up empty trailers, and drive back. The “army truck” drivers 

would pick up the loaded trailers with their “army trucks” and go through the landfill process to 

discharge the waste before driving the empty trailers back to the parking lot. 
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Photo 4. A military surplus tractor (“army truck”) was used to haul the trailer and deposit waste in the landfill. 

The “army trucks” did not have audible backup alarms, although the mirrors on the trucks worked. The 

tractor radios did not work most of the time due to the incompatible electrical voltages between the 

tractor and the radio. The “army truck” drivers reportedly often drove up to a working face and backed 

onto a tipper whenever they saw that the tipper was empty without getting the radio communication 

from a tipper operator. 

This incident occurred on a Saturday when the landfill received waste between 6 and 11 am. At around 

11 am, the last tractor trailer was getting ready to back onto the tripper. The tractor trailer was driven 

by an “army truck” driver. At the time of the incident, the victim exited the operator’s cab and walked 

to the other side of the deck where the hydraulic controls for outrigger cylinders were located. He was 

wearing a high visibility vest. A landfill bulldozer operator stated that he saw the victim standing on 

the tipper deck leaning over the outrigger hydraulic controls. Meanwhile the “army truck” with a 

loaded trailer was backing onto the tipper deck. The bulldozer operator yelled into his CB radio to stop 

the driver who heard nothing since the truck radio was broken. The bulldozer operator could not warn 

the victim since the CB radio was inside the operator’s cab and the victim could not hear the radio 

once he was outside the cab. The “army truck” driver did not see the victim and he continued backing 

onto the tipper deck. The victim was run over by the rear wheels of the trailer on the passenger side

suffering fatal crushing injuries. The bulldozer operator got to the front of the tipper to signal the driver 

who stopped the truck. The bulldozer operator immediately called 911. EMTs responded and arrived at 

the site within minutes, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. 
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After the incident, the landfill began requiring that the tipper operator raise and tilt the metal access 

ramp to stop tractor trailers from backing onto the tipper deck every time a tipper operator is outside 

the operator’s cab and on the deck (photo 5).

Photo 5. The access ramp is raised to stop the tractor trailer from backing onto the tipper deck when operator is 

outside the operator’s cab. 

RECOMMENDATIONS/DISCUSSIONS 

Recommendation #1: Landfill employers should implement measures to prevent tractor trailers 

from backing onto the tipper deck when a tipper operator is on the deck. 

Discussion: A landfill tipper operator performs multiple tasks on the deck such as cleaning, trouble 

shooting, and maintaining the equipment. Every time the operator is on the tipper deck, he is 

potentially exposed to fatal crushing hazards due to tractor trailers backing onto the deck. Landfill 

employers should consider implementing the following measures to prevent tractor trailers from 

backing onto the tipper deck when the operator is on it: 

• Set up a physical barrier to block the deck; 

• Radio all delivery drivers at the working face that the deck is closed;

• Use a visual signal such as a flashing red light to show that the deck is closed;

• Coordinate with other landfill vehicles such as bulldozers to block the path to tipper deck. 

Landfill employers should ensure that no operator leaves the operator’s cab unless these control 

measures are in place.
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Recommendation #2: Landfill employers should provide additional communication methods for the 

equipment operators and other pedestrian workers who work around heavy mobile equipment. 

Discussion: The bulldozer operator in this case tried to warn the victim when he saw the “army truck”

trailer backing up, but he could not reach the victim since the CB radio was inside the operator’s cab

and the victim was on the deck. Landfill employers should provide a secondary communication 

method such as a walkie-talkie for the working face staff to communicate with the equipment operators 

and other pedestrian workers. The operators should be required to always carry the walkie-talkie when 

they are outside the operator’s cab. 

Landfills may consider developing a set of standard hand signals as an additional communication 

method for landfill equipment operators to communicate with each other. The hand signals can be used 

once direct eye contact is established. Employers should provide training for workers to learn and 

practice the hand gestures and get familiar with the specific messages being conveyed. 

Recommendation #3: Landfill employers should require that all visiting vehicles have the important 

safety features such as properly working CB radios and backup alarms. 

Discussion: In this case, the only available communication method between the tipper operator and a 

delivery driver was through a CB radio. The radios on the “army trucks” did not work and the trucks’ 

backup alarms were broken. Landfill employers should require that all visiting vehicles have radios

and backup alarms that are working properly. Vehicles without working radios and backup alarms

should not be permitted to enter the landfill. 

Recommendation #4: Landfill employers should develop and implement a standard operating 

procedure to ensure the safety of the tipper operators. 

Discussion: The tipper in this case could tip up to 70 trailers a day and the operators were exposed to 

serious crushing hazards every time they were outside the operator’s cab. Landfill employers should 

develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the tipper operation to ensure the safety of the 

operators. The procedure should be in writing and it should clearly describe the responsibilities of each 

party involved, the communication method, and the control measures. The SOP should emphasize the 

importance of the operator remaining inside the operator’s cab whenever a tractor trailer is backing up. 

The operator should never leave the operator’s cab until all the specified control measures to prevent 

tractor trailers from backing onto the deck are implemented. 

The landfill should require that all visiting drivers read and follow the SOP once at a working face. All 

noncompliance incidents should be recorded in the site log and the visitors who failed to follow the 

safety provisions should be asked to leave the working face. 

Recommendation #5: Landfill employers should develop and implement a comprehensive landfill 

waste disposal policy to ensure the safety of landfill employees and customers. 

Discussion: It is the landfill’s responsibility to keep both their employees and delivery drivers/visiting 

customers safe. Both landfill employees and delivery drivers as well as other landfill visitors should 

strictly follow all safety policies and procedures. An unsafe act by landfill employees may endanger 

the safety of a delivery driver and a visitor’s failure to follow landfill safety protocols can cause 
9 

serious injuries to landfill workers. Landfill employers should develop and implement a safe waste 

disposal policy and ensure the compliance of both the landfill employees and visitors. The safety 

policy should clearly define the responsibilities of both parties, the protocols to be followed, and the 

personal protective equipment required for entering the landfill. The policy should specify the safety 

requirements for visiting vehicles, for example all visiting waste trucks should have a working CB 

radio, backup alarm, and other necessary safety features. 

The landfills should require tractor trailer drivers to read and follow the policy. The landfill should 

enforce the safety policy by setting up a system to record noncompliance cases. Visitors who failed to 

follow the safe protocol should be requested to leave the landfill. 

Recommendation #6: Landfill employers should provide training to ensure that workers understand 

and follow the SOP at the working face and the landfill waste disposal policy. 

Discussion: Mobile equipment and vehicles backing up are major hazards at a landfill working face

and can cause serious worker injuries and death. Large mobile equipment has blind spots and the 

operators or drivers cannot always see the pedestrian workers in the area. Workers who are out of the 

operator’s cab and walk in the working face are in danger of being run over by landfill equipment as 

well as the visiting vehicles. Landfill employers should provide employee training to ensure that 

workers understand the nature of the hazards and are familiar with the communication methods and 

prevention measures, as well as tipper SOP and landfill safe waste disposal policy. 

Recommendation #7: Solid waste trucking companies should follow the landfill safety policy and 

ensure that the vehicles meet the landfill’s safety requirement and their employees follow the landfill 

safety policy. 

Discussion: The solid waste trucking company in this case purchased the “army trucks” that did not 

have working radios and backup alarms. The radio communication was critical at a working face to 

ensure the safety of the landfill operators and the delivery drivers. Trucking companies should make 

sure that the waste tractor trailers have all the required safety features and communication devices 

required by the landfill. Trucking companies should provide training to their drivers to ensure that they 

follow the landfill safety procedures and policies when depositing wastes at the landfill. 

Keywords: landfill, solid waste, trailer tipper, tractor trailer backing up, working face, crushing 

hazard, blind spot 

 

REFERENCES

1. New York State Department of Health, New York State Fatality Assessment and Control 

Evaluation. Truck Driver Run Over by Trash Compactor at Municipal Landfill Case Report: 

02NY007. Retrieved September 5, 2017 from 

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/face/docs/02ny007.pdf

 

2. New York State Department of Health, New York State Fatality Assessment and Control 

Evaluation. Preventing deaths and injuries to public workers while working around mobile 

equipment. Retrieved September 5, 2017 from 

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/face/training/mobile_equipment.htm 
10 

3. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and 

Health. Solid Waste Industry. Retrieved September 5, 2017 from 

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2012-140/pdfs/2012-140.pdf

The New York State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (NY FACE) program is funded by the 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and administered by the New York State Department of 

Health. NY FACE is a research program designed to study the causes of workplace fatalities and develop 

practical and effective prevention measures. NY FACE investigators evaluate information from multiple 

sources and provide recommendations for prevention in summary reports. These recommendations are 

distributed to employers, workers, and other organizations interested in promoting workplace safety. The NY 

FACE does not determine fault or legal liability associated with a fatal incident. Names of employers, victims 

and/or witnesses are not included in written investigative reports or other databases to protect the 

confidentiality of those who voluntarily participate in the program. Additional information regarding the NY 

FACE program can be obtained from:

New York State Department of Health FACE Program

Bureau of Occupational Health and Injury Prevention

Corning Tower, Room 1325

Empire State Plaza

Albany, NY 12237

866-807-2130

518-402-7900

boh@health.ny.gov

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/face/index.htm