Work-related traffic accidents are the leading cause of occupational deaths in the US, accounting for approximately 25% of fatalities. Transportation and moving materials, contact with equipment or objects, falls, and violence also contribute to workplace fatalities.
Fatal workplace accidents are said to be relatively rare for the average American worker. About four occupational deaths per 100,000 workers were reported to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2006. Most people are aware that there are some occupations considered more dangerous than others, such as logging or commercial fishing, but few they can name the most common causes of death, independent of workers’ careers. Victims vary by occupation, gender, ethnicity, and age. Regardless of these variables, the overwhelming cause of work-related deaths is work-related traffic accidents.
Work-related automobile or motor vehicle accidents account for approximately 25% of work-related fatalities in any given year. This classification does not specifically include deaths of workers commuting to and from work or deaths of highway workers on or near a roadway. Fatigue and not wearing a seat belt are said to contribute to this large proportion. Although women account for only about 8% of work-related fatalities, they experience more work-related deaths on motorways than men.
Transportation and moving materials accounted for 17% of work-related fatalities. These deaths are those caused by certain types of forklift accidents, tractor accidents, train crashes, train crashes, and even parking lot deaths. Combined with highway fatalities, this means that 42 percent, or nearly half, of all workplace fatalities involve moving ourselves, materials, and the machines that help us do so.
The third highest number of occupational deaths, 16%, involve contact with equipment or objects. XNUMX% of these types of deaths occur when an object, often a falling one, hits an employee. The decline in these types of workplace fatalities is thought to be related to stricter enforcement of hard hat compliance and the use of covered walkways during construction projects.
Both falls and violence compete for the fourth-highest number of work-related fatalities, each accounting for about 15% of the total. For cases of violence, actual homicide accounts for a staggering 11 percent with the remaining four percent labeled as assault, apparently with fatal complications. This type of fatality is another in which female victims far outnumber men and more than twice as many as men. Of the total work-related deaths, 15% are from falls, with falls to a lower level accounting for 13% of the total. These deaths are mostly suffered by men and are prevalent in the construction industry.
The remaining somewhat common causes each account for less than one in ten deaths. Exposure to hazardous substances, materials or gases accounts for 9% of work-related deaths. Finally, only 3% of workplace fatalities are due to fires and explosions.
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