Driving a Truck is a Dangerous Job

Have  you thought about how dangerous being a truck driver can be? Read this week's Safety Bulletin to receive more insight into truck driver injuries and what you can do to prevent them! Read the entire bulletin here and https://www.idealease.com/safety-compliance/safety-bulletinssign up for future safety bulletins delivered to your inbox!   https://www.idealease.com/safety-bulletins/proactive-vs-reactive-safety-and-loss-control-p

When you think of dangerous jobs, what comes to your mind? Police officers, firefighters, and construction workers might top the list for most people. Tractor-trailer truck drivers don't come to mind, but Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that driving a truck is risky in ways you might not expect.

For example:

• One out of every seven American workers killed on the job is a tractor-trailer truck driver.
• In 2022, 625 tractor-trailer truck drivers were killed while working.
• Many of these deaths, 78 percent, were caused by transportation incidents.

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers have the highest number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses. These drivers rank 6th among the top occupation with the highest incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injury and illnesses. Truck drivers had nearly one out of 20 injury cases nationwide where time off was necessary to recover. Interestingly, tractor-trailer truck drivers are three times more likely to have an injury or

ailment, requiring days off for recovery.

Injuries caused by slips, falls, and overexertion are the culprit for truck driver injuries. Drivers may easily overexert themselves through heavy lifting, pushing, and pulling containers, and routinely getting in and out of such a large vehicle. Among all occupations, tractor-trailer truck drivers also ranked No. 3 on the list of workers with musculoskeletal disorders (injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, or spinal discs) that required days off from work in 2014. These disorders may be caused by prolonged sitting, assisting with loading and unloading, poor posture, and more daily truck driving tasks.

Overall, recovery time is longer for truck drivers who get hurt on the job. Half of all truck drivers require at least 20 days away from work after an incident, compared to other occupations requiring around nine days before returning to work. Among tractor-trailer truck drivers who had to take days off work due to injury, 42 percent missed more than a month (31 or more days) of work.

The Transportation Department's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is tasked with reducing the number and severity of crashes involving large commercial trucks and buses on our nation's public highways and roads. In addition to its regulatory oversight of commercial motor carriers, FMCSA has online resources to help everyone share our roadways safely. FMCSA's safety education program for all vehicles, including bicyclists and pedestrians, is called "Our Roads, Our Responsibility."

More information about preventing musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace is available from our Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Data about work-related fatalities, injuries, and illnesses can be found on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

This detailed information will help employers improve conditions for tractor-trailer drivers and empower workers with knowledge about the hazards they're likely to encounter.

Sean Smith and Patrick Harris are economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS employees Nicole Nestoriak and Erin Huband also contributed to this post.

Have You and Your Employees "Bought" into Safety?

Several years ago, after a driver safety meeting, a driver approached me and commented that he knew how to drive safely. He stated that he had not had any accidents and knew what to do in case of an accident, so why was I so intent on "selling" safety to him every chance I had? I told him that his life and safety would be the most critical sale I could ever make. You may not be in a buying mood today, but later on- tomorrow, next week, next year, it may be too late. By "buying" into safety, your actions may keep others alive as well as yourself!

This is what it will cost you to "buy" into Safety:

• Two seconds to fasten your seat belt.
• Ten minutes for a thorough Pre-trip inspection.
• Ten seconds to make sure your mirrors are correctly adjusted.
• Two seconds to shut off your cell phone before operating a motor vehicle.
• Eight hours to get proper rest.
• Thirty seconds to clean the trash from your vehicle at the end of your trip or route.
• Keep your mind on your driving.
• A fraction of a second to flip on your turn signal.
• Two minutes to walk around your entire vehicle while fueling or stopping to make sure it is in safe order.
• Leave on time and allow extra time for adverse weather conditions.
• Slow down in poor weather conditions like fog, rain, snow, or ice.
• Increase your following distance.
• Expect the unexpected.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is September 10-16, 2023

Truck drivers keep our world running; they work endlessly to deliver the goods and resources people need. National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is an essential time for America to respect and thank all professional truck drivers for their hard work and commitment to undertaking one of our economy's most demanding and vital jobs. These 3.5 million professional men and women deliver our goods safely, securely, and on time; they also keep our highways safe.

Americans and Canadians have taken extraordinary steps to show appreciation for the vital work that professional truck drivers have done. From children passing out lunches to "I Heart Truck" signs across the highways, the public has noticed truck drivers' essential role in their lives.

This week in September is a small way to show appreciation to the 3.5 million professional men and women who deliver our goods and keep our highways safe. Start planning to do something special for your drivers this week in September that we set aside to recognize them.

Registration is now open online for the 2023 Idealease/NPTC Safety Seminars!

Idealease and the National Private Truck Council NPTC will again host safety seminars in 2023.  The one-day seminar this year will focus on data available from trucks today with regard to safety, basic safety and compliance, regulation changes, and CSA. The seminars will be provided to all Idealease customers, potential customers, and NPTC members at no charge.   The seminar provides essential information applicable to both novice and experienced transportation professionals.  Seminars currently available for registration have their venues secured.  If you cannot register for the seminar in your area, check back, as registration availability will be added as the venues are secured.  This information will be updated weekly in this bulletin.  To register for an upcoming seminar in 2023, click on the following link: http://www.idealease.com/safety-seminar-registration

FALL SEMINARS (Sept-Oct)

CVSA Releases 2023 International Roadcheck Results

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has released the results of its 2023 International Roadcheck.  On May 16-18, 59,429 commercial motor vehicles were inspected in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. as part of a 72-hour inspection and enforcement initiative.  According to CVSA, 81% of the commercial motor vehicles and 94.5% of the commercial motor vehicle drivers inspected did not have any out-of-service violations.

CVSA-certified inspectors discovered at least one out-of-service violation on 19% of the vehicles inspected and, in turn, removed those 11,270 CMVs from roadways until the out-of-service violations were corrected. There were 17,479 vehicle out-of-service violations in total.

In addition, inspectors also restricted 5.5% (3,256) of the CMV drivers inspected who were found to have at least one out-of-service driver violation.

*The Idealease Safety Bulletin is provided for Idealease locations and their customers and is not to be construed as a complete or exhaustive source of compliance or safety information. The Idealease Safety Bulletin is advisory in nature and does not warrant, guarantee, or otherwise certify compliance with laws, regulations, requirements, or guidelines of any local, state, or Federal agency and/or governing body, or industry standard.