On 11 September 2019, the mechanism used to open and close a tarpaulin cover on a triple road train trailer failed while a truck driver was in the process of closing the cover.
To close the cover, the tarpaulin cover is rolled from one side to the other over the top of the trailer while the tarpaulin tube (tarp tube) is rotated by a hydraulic motor located on the end of a spring loaded arm. As the cover approached the closed position on the top of the trailer, the tarp tube fractured. The combined tension and weight of the motor and spring arm caused the motor end of the arm to move through a downwards arc, ending up at the level of the cover operating switch at the front corner of the trailer. It appears this may have struck the truck driver who was found unconscious and later died in hospital.
Direct causes
The operator was in the line of fire when the motor and swing arm became detached from the tarp tube.
Contributory causes
- The operating switch for the tarpaulin cover was situated in a location that placed the operator in the line of fire when the tarp tube failed during operation of the covering mechanism.
- The tarp tube failed.