According to federal data, mobile equipment was linked to almost 800 injuries and 16 fatalities in coal mines between January 2000 and September 2010. Three of those deaths occurred this year alone.

Entitled Watch Out!, the initiative includes best practice resources, posters and hard hat stickers addressing worker safety around shuttle cars, scoops and other machines, and covers prevention methods including reflective clothing, maintaining safe distances, and using visual signals.

“We are concerned by the large number of injuries and fatal accidents involving shuttle cars and scoops, and are especially alarmed by the number of deaths that occurred just this year,” assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health Joseph Main said.

“On too many occasions, miners are being hit or crushed by this type of mobile equipment, primarily due to the obstructed view of the driver. Miners need to be more aware of the presence of these vehicles, and mine operators need to provide safety protections to prevent these injuries and deaths.”

Main pointed out that shuttle cars and scoops, used to transport material throughout a mine, can often have obstructed views when loaded and, because the units operate in close quarters and tight travelways, their movements can present serious hazards to other workers.

“Mine operators need to determine safe routes of travel for miners and equipment, and examine systems that better establish a worker’s location, such as the use of small strobe lights for miners on foot,” Main said.

MSHA encourages the further development and use of proximity detection technology, which has been in existence for several years and can be installed on machinery and programmed to send warning signals when an individual enters certain areas of hazard.

“Proximity detection systems, used in conjunction with good safety practices around mobile equipment, could bring an end to fatal accidents involving shuttle cars and scoops in underground coal mines,” he said.

Federal inspectors will be passing out program materials to US mines. MSHA has developed a one-source page regarding proximity detection technology at http://www.msha.gov/Accident_Prevention/NewTechnologies/ProximityDetection/ProximitydetectionSingleSource.asp.