Trucking is still a dangerous occupation, with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) listing truck drivers and sales drivers as having the country’s 7th most deadly job in the top 10.
They’re behind logging workers, who placed as No. 1; fishing-related occupations, No. 2; aircraft pilots and flight engineers, No. 3; roofers, No. 4; trash and recycling collectors, No. 5; and iron and steel workers, No. 6.
“Transportation accidents were the leading cause of job fatalities, resulting in 40 percent of all workplace deaths in 2016,” said a report from the Business and Labor Resources organization, which was quoting from a Time magazine article.
Following behind truck and sales drivers were farmers and ranchers, (No. 8); first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, (No. 9); and grounds maintenance workers at No. 10.
Workplace violence has surpassed slips, trips and falls as the second most-common cause of on-the-job death in 2016, the latest numbers available, according to the report.
The BLS rated occupations according to fatal work injury rates per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.
Truck and sales drivers had the most deaths of all the occupations, 918, compared to No. 1’s fishing occupations, which only accounted for 91 fatalities.
Farmers and ranchers/agricultural managers had 260 deaths followed by grounds maintenance workers (217); construction workers (134); and roofers (101).
Logging, however, had 135.9 fatal work injuries per 100,000 workers while truck and sales drivers only had 24.7.
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers had 55.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers and roofers were close behind with 48.6 fatalities; trash collectors with 34.; iron and steel workers with 25.1; ranchers with 23.1; construction workers with 18 and grounds workers with 17.4.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
