Title: Lowboy Trailer Safety

Lowboy Trailer Safety

Introduction•Definition of a Lowboy Trailer

•Common uses for Lowboy Trailers

•Common hazards associated with Lowboy operations

What is a Lowboy Trailer?•A Lowboy Trailer is a piece of construction

equipment that is used to move other pieces of

construction equipment.

•Lowboy trailers come in many different sizes and

load capacities.

•Some lowboy trailers are loaded from ramps and

others are loaded by removing the goose neck

What are Common Uses For Lowboy Trailers?•Moving construction equipment such as bulldozers,

track hoes, crane components, and loaders

•Moving other equipment such as air conditioners,

industrial equipment, and crushers

•Loading a Lowboy

What are Common Hazards Associated With Lowboy

Operations?•Pinch Points
•Construction Equipment

•Crushing Hazards

•Operator Error

Pinch Points•There are multiple pinch points involved when

dealing with a lowboy

•Lowboys with removable goose necks have a greater

pinch point hazard due to the fact that there are

moving parts on the trailer.

•Care must be taken when loading a lowboy because

of the ramps used to load equipment

Crushing Hazards•Lowboys for carrying greater loads have a

removable goose neck.

•When the trailer is lowered for loading or

unloading from the front, keep feet and hands

clear of pinch points

Crushing Hazards•When loading the lowboy care also must be taken

so that the operators hands or feet do not get

crushed by the load.

Construction Equipment•Many accidents occur when lowboys are loaded and

unloaded.

•Remember, when it rains, parts of the equipment

and trailer are slick (Equipment can slide on

lowboys).

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Operator Errors•Operator improperly loading or unloading lowboys

(walking equipment over the side).

•Failure to tie equipment down because they are

only driving on a short haul.

•When a large load is hauled, operator cannot see

people on the ground or other traffic.

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Fatalities and Actual Accidents

12

Fatalities•Out of 34 cases

• 29 people were killed during incident

•45 unloading/loading

•14 backed over or ran over

•10 struck by ramp

•14 repositioning equipment

•7 improper loading of material

•10 faulty equip., park on highway, exposed

tires

• 3 Electrocutions

• 1 Head and Neck Trauma

• 1 Crushing

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Actual Accident
Title: Lowboys

Lowboys

What are Lowboys?•Many of you may not know what lowboys are.

•You are probably thinking as I did and thought

they were somehow related to cowboys.

•There is a common misconception between lowboys

and cowboys, however, there is no relation what

so ever!

Lowboys

Lowboy

Cowboy

Lowboys•Lowboys are a type of flatbed trailer in which

the load floor is closer to the ground than

normal trailers.

•They are most commonly used to haul heavy

equipment like cranes and bulldozers and

industrial equipment.

Lowboys•Designed for loading and unloading under field

conditions.
•The large trucks that pull these trailers are

equipped with heavy-duty winches to assist in

loading.

•Caution should be exercised when dealing with

heavy equipment to prevent injury.

Lowboys•Caution should also be exercised when attaching

(booming) of equipment to the trailer to

prevent accidents.

•Special hauling permits may be required,

especially for oversized loads.

Lowboys•There are two basic types.

Front Loading

Rear Loading

Front Loading•Some have hydraulic detachable goosenecks.

•Most goosenecks fold down or detach from the

trailer bed to facilitate loading and unloading.

•The gooseneck is then repositioned and locked in

place for transport.

Rear Loading•Fixed neck design with ramps for rear loading.

•Ramps fold up during transport.

10

What makes Lowboys Dangerous•Pinch Points

•Crushing/Struck by

• Hazards

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Pinch Points•Hooking up

•Loading/Strapping

12

Crushing/Struck By•Loading/Unloading Equipment

13

Deaths Involving Lowboys•From 1991 to 2004 there have been 37 total

recorded death while operating/using a lowboy.

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Actual Accidents•An employee was driving a truck and attempted to

turn into a dirt driveway with a lowboy trailer

loaded with two dozers. The driveway was muddy

and slippery and the left rear trailer tires

slipped into a ditch because the turn was made

too short. In order to get the trailer out, he

decided to drive the dozers over the side of the

trailer. From the now leaning trailer, he

released the binder securing the dozers from the

low side of the trailer. They slipped off the

side of the trailer, and the blade of one caught

and crushed him against a dirt bank. A large

front end loader was brought to the site to lift

the dozer off him. By this time an ambulance had

arrived and taken him to the hospital, where he

later died.

15

What Could Have Been Done to Prevent this Death•First of all, you should always load and unload

on level ground.

•You should also never load or unload from the

side of the trailer, only the front or back.

16

Actual Accidents•On September 14th 2006, a man had just finished

working with a bulldozer preparing land for new

home construction. He was inside the bulldozer

and was readying to leave the site when the

incident occurred. The man was attempting to load

the bulldozer onto a "lowboy" trailer when the

equipment fell on top of him. Officials said the

ground was soft due to recent rains, and while he

was operating the dozer, it slid off of the

trailer, flipped over, and pinned him underneath.

Neighbors attached several pickup trucks to the

bulldozer to pull the equipment off of the man.

The victim was rushed to the hospital, where he

was pronounced dead due to massive chest injuries.

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What Could Have Been Done to Prevent this Death•Again make sure it is level ground.
•Also make sure the ground that the lowboy is set

on is a solid surface, solid enough to support

the load being loaded up.

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Other Lowboy Precautions•When loading and unloaded, be aware of personnel

in the area.

•Make sure the load is centered on the lowboy.

•Never load equipment from the side.

•If loading/unloading on or near a highway, place

adequate warnings to alert motorist.

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Continued•Always secure the load, even if it is not being

transported very far.

•Make sure that the brakes are properly adjusted

on the truck and on the lowboy.

•Never load or unload near power lines.

• Always use common sense.

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Questions

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Title: LOWBOYS

LOWBOYS

Lowboys•Lowboys are a type of flatbed trailer in which

the load floor is as close to the ground as

possible. Most commonly used to haul heavy

equipment, cranes, bulldozers, etc.

Lowboys•There are two types of lowboys

•Front Loading

•Rear Loading

Lowboys•Deaths Involving Lowboys (1991-2004)

•37 total Deaths

•15 while loading, 12 while unloading, 10 during

transport.

Lowboy Precautions•Majority of accidents involving lowboys occur

when loading/unloading equipment.

•Special care must be taken to ensure the trailer

is on a level area when loading or unloading

equipment to prevent equipment from becoming

unstable.

•Make sure nobody is in the area when unloading

equipment.

Lowboy Precautions•When loading equipment make sure that the

tracks/wheels of the equipment are centered on

the trailer.

•Never load equipment onto the lowboy from the

side.

Lowboy Precautions•When loading/unloading equipment near a roadway,

place adequate warning signs to alert motorists.

•Do not load or unload equipment near overhead

power lines.

Lowboy Precautions•Always secure the load on the trailer, even when

transporting equipment short distances.

•When transporting equipment on a lowboy, make

sure there is adequate clearance around the

equipment so as not strike nearby workers or

vehicles.

•Make sure the brakes on the lowboy and on the

truck pulling the lowboy are properly adjusted.

Lowboy Accident•Worker was unloading a bulldozer off of a lowboy

parked on a slope.

•When the worker began to back the bulldozer off

of the trailer, the bulldozer tipped over and

fell off the side of the trailer.

•When it began to fall the worker tried to jump

from the bulldozer and was crushed when it fell

off the side of the trailer.

•Worker was killed.

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Lowboy Accident•Driver of truck bottoms out on a slight grade and

breaks air hose that controls the brakes.

•The broken air hose causes the brakes on the

trailer to lock up.

•Worker goes under the trailer to fix the brakes

but does not put the parking brake on the

trailer.

•When the worker fixes the air hose, the brakes

are released.

•Worker is ran over and killed when the truck

rolls down the road.

11

Lowboys•Many of the lowboy deaths are easily preventable.

•By following these simple safety precautions, the

number of deaths can be greatly reduced.

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