Hazards

Construction sites are dangerous and put workers at an increased risk for backover accidents for reasons such as the following:

• Sites are often noisy, making it difficult to clearly communicate, because workers may not hear backup alarms or warning signals.
• Communication challenges put construction workers at an increased risk for hazards, such as injury or death from backover accidents.
• Large equipment can have blind spots, and drivers may have difficulty seeing other workers.
• A worker, such as a spotter, may be assisting with one piece of equipment and become unaware of another piece behind him.
• Construction workers may fall off equipment or assume that they are clear of the path of equipment and end up being backed over.

It is not always clear why backover accidents happen, and sometimes they occur because of a combination of these factors.

To learn more about Backover Safety visit our Construction Backover Safety Online Training web page.