If you’re in the trucking industry, then you are well aware of the risks that come with the job. But to the public, truckers don’t usually spring to mind when they think of dangerous professions.
The Department of Labor recently posted an article that explains the cold hard facts about the trucking industry.
Here’s the reality:
- One in six American workers killed on the job was a truck driver.
- In the year 2014, 761 truck drivers were killed on the job.
- For the past five years, trucking fatalities have progressively increased.
- 78% of these deaths were transportation related.
“Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers also have the highest number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses that require days off from work across all occupations (a total of 55,710 in 2014),” the DOL writes.
The report acknowledges that a trucker is three times more likely than the ordinary worker to suffer a serious injury on the job. Most injuries result from slips, falls, and of course, overexertion.
“Pushing and pulling containers; lifting heavy items while loading and unloading the truck; and getting in and out of such a large vehicle routinely are all ways that drivers can easily overdo it on the job,” the report states.
Truck drivers also miss more work due to injury than other professions, because injuries are generally more serious. Employees in non-trucking occupations miss an average of 9 days of work due to injury, while truck drivers miss 20 days on average.
The report mentions that the FMCSA is tasked with improving driver safety, which is done mainly through education and increased regulations. Despite their efforts, however, trucking fatalities have increased over the last five years and show no signs of reversing course.