BigClive
11-09-2006, 04:37 PM
Had a thrilling experience today, Was working from the road across a large paved area and through between two pillars of a building in my access unit when a double decker bus took a corner wide and hit the back of my boom.
Up in the bucket I just heard a loud crunching noise and the bucket jolted forcibly to the side, just stoppng short of hitting one of the pillars. At first I though a jack had failed or gone through the pavement, but it transpired the bus had clipped me. Fortunately the point of contact hand been the rear corner of the buses fibreglass shell, so it had failed without applying excessive pressure to the boom. Cones were in place to divert trafic away from the overhanging boom, but obviously didn't work in this instance.
Could have been much worse. If the bus had clipped a jack I could have been smashed up a bit or thrown from the bucket. Was wearing harness and hooked on though. Unit had to be returned to base for structural inspection.
Bus was a bit ripped, but no visible sign of damage on boom.
http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bus.jpg
Up in the bucket I just heard a loud crunching noise and the bucket jolted forcibly to the side, just stoppng short of hitting one of the pillars. At first I though a jack had failed or gone through the pavement, but it transpired the bus had clipped me. Fortunately the point of contact hand been the rear corner of the buses fibreglass shell, so it had failed without applying excessive pressure to the boom. Cones were in place to divert trafic away from the overhanging boom, but obviously didn't work in this instance.
Could have been much worse. If the bus had clipped a jack I could have been smashed up a bit or thrown from the bucket. Was wearing harness and hooked on though. Unit had to be returned to base for structural inspection.
Bus was a bit ripped, but no visible sign of damage on boom.
http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bus.jpg