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Mar 17, 2008 11:58 pm US/Eastern
Miami-Dade Might Get Tough On Crane Safety
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Investigators are looking at either mechanical failure or "perhaps human error" as a possible cause of the accident in New York City.
Tony Aiello/CBS
CBS4 News showed you months ago, there are no local or state laws in Florida regulating cranes to make sure they're safe, but County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson has been pushing for a crane safety proposal to pass for months.
Tuesday the commission is finally set to vote on it. It could come as a relief to the thousands of people who live with cranes just feet away from their homes, such as in Downtown Miami. Tower cranes can topple over and mobile cranes can malfunction, and as we've seen in New York, cranes can crash into people's homes.
"We have to do something about it," said one man in Downtown Miami. "They just put them out there; no one checks them to see if they're good or not, next thing you know they'll be falling all over the place."
Months ago,
CBS4 News exposed the fact that in Florida, crane companies only have to follow outdated federal standards to make sure their operators are trained, and this heavy equipment is safe.
CBS4's Natalia Zea found out that, even with no training, she can legally operate a crane in Miami-Dade.
"We needed to do something because as of right now we do not have any codes here in Miami Dade County," said Edmonson.
Concerned by the more than 100 cranes towering over homes, schools, and businesses in the county, and the rise of crane accidents, Edmonson brought in experts from the crane industry to create local safety standards. Commissioners will finally vote on them Tuesday.
"I think oversight is necessary," said Gary Waters.
Waters, head of the International Union of Crane Operators, helped work on the proposed ordinance. He says laws need to be in place to make sure the people inspecting the cranes and the people operating them are at the top of their game, because crane technology keeps changing.
"They're much more complicated, they're much more computer oriented and it takes a lot more skill," said Waters.
And as the tragedy in New York shows clearly the stakes couldn't be higher.
"I can't tell you how many times something like that almost happened here, and just by the grace of God didn't," he said.
Even if the safety proposal passes, it won't guarantee accidents won't happen. New York City has local laws governing crane safety that didn't help in this latest accident, but crane experts say it's better than nothing.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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