Bus Mechanic killed when coach falls on him.

[roadrunnertex]

Bus Folks I picked this up on a Yahoo Trailways group board.
I don't know how this tragic accident happend but it goes to show us that we all need to be careful when working on and around and under our coaches.
Perhaps some one can give us more information.

http://www.wfmz.com/view/?id=26664
jlv

[roadrunnertex]

Update- I just found out that the 2 mechanics were replacing a suspension air bellows on the coach.
It was a MCI of some sort.
jlv

[FloridaCliff]

JL,

A tragedy and a recent close call from one of our own should be a wake up call for all of us.

You can't be too safe. (or too good looking )

Thanks for the eye opener and reminder!

Cliff

[brojcol]

OMG,

For this very reason, I paid extra on my insurance for roadside assistance. 

Them thangs skeer me.

Jimmy

[FloridaCliff]

Jimmy,

I remember the first time I was under the bus.

It was blocked up and on ramps, and I kept thinking  "What if the both tires blew"

Be careful under there Guys!

Cliff

[Busted]

Hey John
Hate to tell you this, but remember Julian (Chickenbone)? Bus fell off the jack & killed him. Happened at Carrington's.
I am a FREAK about working under anything other than an Eagle (as long as the wheels are on it). Air bag buses are
one hundred percent unpredictable!!! And so are jacks!!! Knew a few guys who fell asleep under a bag bus while working on it and met their demise. You cannot be TOO safe! At the very least overdo it when it comes to working safely on a bus!
I should start a thread about side of the road safety. The horror stories I have, & have lived thru.
Sorry for the bad news man. He was a great guy.
Julian Flores RIP

[Clarke Echols]

There are a number of ways to prevent this sort of problem:

1) Drive the bus up on blocks high enough that if the bags go to minimum possible
height (fully deflated), you still have plenty of room between the bus frame and the
ground.

2) If you jack anything up, use a SCREW jack so it can't collapse, or use an adequate
jack stand.

3) Get a pair of special jacks that work like a fork lift.  You roll/slide them in around the
tire and a pair of extensions grab the tire and lift the bus.  They have mechanical locks
on them that prevent them from falling.  I've seen charter buses on a driveway with
four of these animals, one on each corner, and the bus was high enough to walk around
underneath.  My only concern was what might happen if a heavy gust of wind came along.
Much safer inside, assuming you have a high enough (17 feet or more) ceiling.

4) [I think this is most practical] Build a service pit in the floor or your shop if you have
one, or create an equivalent outdoors so you can work under the bus with the wheels on the
ground.  It's cheaper than a hospital stay or a funeral.

And if you use blocks or ramps, make sure they are wide enough and stable enough that
they cannot roll over or sink into the ground, and make sure you have them on very solid
soil, even when it's raining or wet.

If you are working on air bags, if you can find an appropriate place to do it, you could use a
length of 3-inch steel pipe (1/4-inch wall thickness) with steel plates on each end alongside
each air bag.  Inflate them to raise the body high enough to insert the pipe between axle
assembly and a suitably solid point on the bus frame, then deflate the bag.  Doing this all
at once all the way around the coach is "left as an exercise for the student" to figure out
how.

Most injuries/fatalities boil down to somebody doing something really stupid (like falling
asleep under a bus? -- Were they out to late the night before? Why?).  Sometimes
life can be rather unforgiving.  I sometimes wonder who was silently protecting Ben
Franklin from himself while he was "discovering' electricity in lightning!  That's a really
good way to get critically killed (or is it "become critically dead"?)...

Clarke

[Busted]

Clarke...
In referance to your comment of (doing something really stupid, like falling asleep under a bus).
It would be best to slow down, and consider your words.

[kingfa39]

I knew of two experenced mechanics that had buses fall on them, one worked for greyhound for yrs ( charlie neal) ,and had his own business in NC, broke all his ribs, he managed to get a airline to a jack and get himself out, the other in VA neither were killed but were really hurt, if it can happen to these guys it can happen to any of us , pay close attn to what you are doing when you crawl under your bus (please)  Charlie was a great mechanic had a heart attack and has left us, he was good on all GM s
Frank Allen
4106

[Earl-8-Ky]

I have 4 6x6 oak blocks that will just fit between the frame and the axel. I place them there if
I have to go under the bus. I also carry them with me on the road. If you blow a air bag you could put one in and at least get to a safe plce for repairs. You will also need to carry a jack.

[Buffalo SpaceShip]

Wow, JL, that's quite sobering, as are the other stories of deaths and injuries posted. The past two weeks since my little mishap under the bus has been pretty bad. Sometimes it's keeping me awake at night just kicking myself for soing something so dangerously stupid. Certainly could have been me in a newspaper story: "Father/ husband killed working under his private bus".  Gads.

This Thanksgiving, I plainly had another thing to be thankful for.

Clarke and others offer some great safety advice. But it's still up to each and every one of us to regularly use these safety devices. It only takes one "little" time, or one "quick" adjustment under there...

Brian B.