Haul trucks are unsurpassed in their ability to move mountains, but they also top a more grim chart.

Haul trucks are involved in more quarry accidents and deaths than any other piece of equipment. From January 1990 to July 1996 there were 4,397 haul truck accidents reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration. But James Young, an MSHA educational field services training specialist, said it does not have to be that way.

Young, a 21-year MSHA veteran who spent his first 16 years as an inspector, was part of a four-member MSHA committee that studied 1,300 accidents. Of those accidents, there were 640 cases of serious injury and lost time; 139 resulted in death.

One of the first steps toward reducing incidents is to require drivers to conduct pre-operation inspections, he said. That is the one time a driver has the most control. If he is driving when something goes wrong, it's too late, Young said.

"When I was an operator, I did [an inspection] two or three times each day," Young said. Before joining MSHA, Young worked in Kentucky coal mines.

In addition to a mechanical inspection, drivers should inspect the truck for structural flaws. Ladders in poor shape or too high off the ground account for many slip-and-fall injuries. The chance for an incident increases if a driver is mounting the machine with a lunch pail or cooler in one hand, while hoisting himself up the ladder with only his free hand. Young also said to inspect the catwalk for debris and structural integrity.

Another thing a driver can do to increase his chances of surviving a mishap is to wear the seat belt. The odds of surviving an accident increase 10-fold if the driver is buckled up, Young said.

Many drivers will not wear seat belts because they believe they can jump from the vehicle if it goes out of control. Most people cannot make a 17-foot vertical jump, especially when trying to jump in the opposite direction of a truck's motion. Most who try jumping cannot overcome the inertia and end up going off the catwalk and under the rear wheels, he said.

A buckled-in driver has a greater chance of regaining control of a truck, because he will not have to fight to control his own body from being tossed about the cab. A driver secured by a seat belt is physically and mentally better able to focus on controlling the truck.

Seat belts do require maintenance. Dust, grease and even sunlight work to breakdown the integrity of a belt's weave. Although not visible, these agents penetrate and weaken belts. Caterpillar recommends belts be replaced every three years, Young said. The operation takes about five minutes and costs about $50 per truck.

Seat belt retractors, which operate like those in passenger cars, can prolong a seat belt's life by keeping it off the truck's floor, away from harmful elements.

"I would really like to see some type of harness (similar to those used in racing cars and jets) with roll protection developed for haul trucks," Young said. But, he acknowledged, more research is needed before that becomes practical.

Roads and berms Poorly planned haul roads are a leading contributor to accidents involving haul trucks. One of the keys to a good haul road is width.

A one-lane haul road needs to be twice the width of the biggest truck. To add a second lane, the road needs to be another one and a half times the width of that truck. If the largest truck is 10-ft wide, a one-lane road should be 20-ft wide and a two-lane road should be 35-ft wide.

Too often, quarry haul road signs are positioned or constructed so as to make them difficult for drivers to read.

"A 3-ft-tall sign might be good for someone in a pickup truck, but it is not any good for a haul truck [driver]," Young said.

For maximum visibility, haul road signs should be straight in front of the driver and about as tall as the truck's ladder, approximately 9 ft. To make the sign visible from 150 to 200 ft away, the lettering must be no less than 8- to 12-in. tall. Young recommends signs be placed on a 9-ft pole, and measure 211/42-ft tall Yen 4-ft wide.

Operators should not hide signs in vegetation or stack 12 signs on one pole. A driver cannot read too much information on one sign while driving. Each sign should have only one item of information, he said.

How the haul roads are bermed also plays a big role in how much damage occurs in an emergency. Although a berm made of large boulders may appear to be a good device for keeping trucks on the haul road, Young contends those are the most dangerous.

"If I'm spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on haul trucks, I'm not going to use big boulders as berms," Young said. In addition to causing a great deal of physical damage to trucks during impact, boulders often cause trucks to go over a ledge, he said.

"I have seen rock berms act like a catapult ramp and shoot a truck up right over into mid air," Young said. They also have a tendency to skid and roll when a truck runs up on one. When this happens, the boulder will often kick a truck over the ledge.

Haul trucks are too big and powerful to be stopped by any berm, he said. The purpose of a berm is to provide drivers with a visual and physical warning that the edge is near, and (in cases of straddle berms) to help him slow the vehicle and regain control.

For a straddle berm to be effective, it must be the right height and width, Young said. It also is important that drivers are trained on how to use such berms.

A good berm will be made of a mixture of stone and soil and be well compacted. Weather is the best mechanism for compacting a berm, he said. A berm should be no shorter than the center of the hub of the biggest haul truck.

Young recommends using a bulldozer to construct berms. The blade of the dozer can be used to contour the berm, while running one track over it will give it a good start to compaction. The track's pattern also enhances drainage on the berm.

Young also advised installing the berms before making drainage cuts in the road. When a berm is built around drainage cuts, it tends to taper on both sides of the cut, lessening its effectiveness.

Young named water as the most menacing gremlin to haul roads. Water will eat a road away. It is very important to have proper drainage, he said.

When dumping off a highwall, it is dangerous for drivers to use the berm as a backstop. This practice will eventually wear down the berm, Young said. It is better that a driver risk dumping short than risk backing over the wall. Drivers can get a good look at the dump area if they circle past it on the driver's side before backing up to dump.

A dump area built on a slight incline will reduce the risk of a truck going over the edge. If the truck wants to roll, it will roll away from the edge, he said.

Ground-level visibility Another leading cause of incidents involving haul trucks is people, who assume they can be seen, working at ground level near haul trucks.

"In a 30-ft-tall haul truck, you can park three pickups straight out in front of him end to end before the tailgate will show in front of the hood," Young said. "We don't respect the operators of these heavy trucks, because we assume they see us-believe me they don't."

Those working around haul trucks on the ground must move as soon as they can to the driver's side and make eye contact with the driver and tell him where they are working and how long they will be there, he said.

Another helpful tool for increasing visibility is mounting 180-in. fiberglass whips with red flags on smaller quarry vehicles. That little red flag might be the only thing a haul truck driver can see, he said.

Visibility is further compromised when the wrong mirrors are put on the trucks. Make sure the mirrors are clean and properly adjusted and the right size and application.

Sometimes it only takes a little effort and a little money to make a big difference in haul truck safety.