Many people drive as part of their job duties on a regular basis. Professional drivers are specially trained to operate vehicles such as buses, big rigs and dump trucks, but millions of people who aren’t trained operate standard vehicles on a regular basis. Workers might drive smaller trucks or cars to make deliveries or travel between work locations, for example. Regardless of training or the reason for driving on the job, roadway accidents can occur and can be fatal for employees.
According to numbers published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some of the most dangerous industries for roadway accidents include warehousing, transportation, construction and agriculture and forestry. Out of 1153 fatal accidents for work-related driving in 2012, 421 were linked to the warehousing and transport industry.
Other industries reporting fatal work-related driving accidents included oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, utilities, wholesale and retail, finance, information, technology, education, health care and public administration. Males account for a much higher death toll than females: In 2012 males accounted for 1076 deaths and females for 77.
The majority of the fatal accidents in 2012 related to accidents involving utility or freight hauling trucks, but 230 of the incidents related to passenger vehicles. Other vehicles involved in fatal accidents included buses, taxies, bikes and motorcycles, dump trucks, garbage trucks, emergency response vehicles and cement trucks.
The rules for seeking compensation differ slightly if you are involved in an accident on the job. If you are injured, you might have workers’ compensation options; if you are a family of someone who was killed, you may be able to seek compensation through a wrongful death suit.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Motor Vehicle Crash Data,” accessed Sep. 11, 2015
