Pedestrian Safety, Vehicle Interaction and Site Traffic Management
What this domain tests
How you protect people who are not in a cab, and how you behave within the traffic management plan.
Segregation and routes
Pedestrians and plant should be separated by barriers, marked walkways and crossings wherever possible. Where segregation is not achievable, the traffic management plan sets speed limits, one-way systems, give-way points, exclusion zones and radio procedures. Follow them even when the site is quiet. Keep to designated haul routes; short cuts across pedestrian areas put people at risk and damage surfaces.
Blind spots and visibility
An ADT has large blind areas in front of the bonnet, to the nearside and directly behind. Cameras, radar and mirrors reduce but do not remove them. Clean lenses and mirrors at the start of every shift and check them again if they get muddy. Before reversing, stop, check mirrors and camera, sound the horn and reverse slowly; if visibility is still inadequate, use a banksman and stop if you lose sight of them. Never assume a pedestrian has heard the machine - engine noise and hearing protection mask it.
Interaction
Make eye contact with pedestrians and other operators before moving. Give way where the plan says so, keep a safe following distance, and never overtake on a narrow haul road without radio clearance. Report near misses and damaged barriers, because they show where the plan is failing.
Worked example
You are reversing to a tip and a banksman is guiding you. A worker walks between the machine and the tip face, out of the banksman's view. You stop immediately because you can no longer see the banksman's signals. The rule is simple: if you lose sight of the banksman, stop until communication is restored - continuing on assumption is how people are crushed.
Traps
- Relying on the reversing alarm to clear people.
- Continuing to reverse when the banksman disappears from view.
- Treating speed limits as targets rather than maxima.