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djohnny_mclandola t1_ireewsh wrote

It sounds to me like he wasn’t wearing his harness and/or didn’t have the lanyard attached to the bucket, so he went for a ride.

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heili t1_ireobkc wrote

Ejected from the bucket and fell from the overpass really sounds like no fall protection device was in use at the time.

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dehehn t1_irfc2j7 wrote

Worked on safety training on this subject. Way too many workers don't use or don't properly use their fall protection. Too many people feel like the don't need it. Too much of a hassle. Slows them down.

You never need it until you do. Falls are the main way construction workers die these days.

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djohnny_mclandola t1_irfndwr wrote

The guys who work in bucket trucks don’t like to follow basic safety even though they are sitting in something that’s essentially a catapult. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often.

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Anji_Mito t1_irf19mi wrote

That's what I wanna mention, fall protection would have saved his life, maybe some skin rash or something, maybe a broken bone but still alive.

Worked in construction before and we had to be picky on this, some people even standing out of the bucket.

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steelcitykid t1_irfi1vx wrote

Disclaimer: I know nothing of the normal safety and PPE gear such a worker should/would normally be wearing but where does it attach to normally? If the tractor was driving at highway speeds even without a load the force it would collide with the bucket and operator is tremendous.

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just_an_ordinary_guy t1_irh3iwt wrote

Thing with something like a bucket truck or boom lift is that they can basically act as a catapult. The harness would be attached with a lanyard somewhere on the boom or in the basket/bucket within operator reach. An accident can still involve injury, and possibly even death. But if you're wearing a harness and lanyard, it keeps ya from getting ejected, ejection being much less survivable.

Don't want to speak ill of the dead or speculate too much, but there were very likely multiple safety rules being broken. From PPE, maybe traffic control, maybe inexperience. Won't know until the investigation is done.

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