Risky business
The first thing to understand is that some occupations are hazardous by virtue of the type of work. And you’d better know an occupation’s risks when you get into it so that you can either take extra precautions or choose a safer line of work. Take elephant training, for example. Some years, the elephants get testy or trainers are careless or lack training, and one or two trainers are killed. Because there are only about 600 elephant trainers in the United States to begin with, having one or two killed during a single year can make it one of the riskiest occupations-with a fatal injury rate 68 times higher than that of the average American worker.
Sure, elephant training is an extreme example. But consider that every day, thousands of men face jobs almost as dangerous as teaching Jumbo to sit. Chances are that if you’ve ever thought about giving it all up to live off the land (or the sea, for those who fancy the water), you’ve never actually tried it. Farms look bucolic.
Forests seem peaceful. Seas appear serene. But making a living as a farmer, woodsman, or fisherman is not only hard work; it can be downright deadly.
In 1995, the most recent year for which data have been analyzed, farm occupations were the 10th most fatal in the nation, with a rate of 25-3 deaths a year for every 100,000 workers; 579 were killed that year. Tractor-related incidents-including rollovers, falls, and highway collisions-are responsible for about one out of every three farm-related deaths. Twelve farmers a year on average are killed by angry farm animals. Plus, farmers face lightning strikes, heatstroke, bee stings, razor-sharp farm equipment, and often severe weather conditions.
Folks in the timber and logging industry don’t have it any better. At a rate of 101 out of every 100,000 timber cutters dying on the job, timber and logging is the second most deadly occupation in the nation. Of the 98 timber cutters who were killed in 1995, 82 percent were struck by falling trees.
Finally, taking your livelihood to the seas is literally taking your life into your hands. With a rate of 104.4 dock-siders dying for every 100,000 folks who hoist nets and poles for a living, fishing is the most dangerous occupation in the country today. Not surprising, the leading cause of fishing fatalities is drowning.
If you’re seeking safer employment, try a job in an industry like service and finance, insurance or real estate, where only about 2 out of every 100,000 people are killed at work each year. Otherwise, if you’re one of the legion of laborers who risk life and limb every day to get the job done, experts recommend taking a long, hard look at what kills people in your field and taking precautions to make sure that you live to work another day.
Here’s what labor experts have to say about some the nation’s deadliest occupations.
Trucking
Truck driving ranks ninth on the list of lethal jobs and accounts for more job-related deaths than any other occupation-killing 749 drivers in 1995, or 13 percent of all job-related deaths. Of those fatalities, 68 percent are a direct result of highway crashes. That means that every day, at least one truck driver is killed in a highway vehicle crash. But there’s a lot that drivers and their employers can do to make things safer for themselves, their employees, and the rest of us on the road.
Maintain a safe limit. One of the most likely culprits behind the increased incidence of fatalities in the transportation industry is the increased speed limits in many states. According to Department of Transportation statistics, when speed limits increase, so do highway fatalities.
Embrace new technology. Truck drivers are supposed to keep logs to ensure that they aren’t pushing themselves too hard and driving with too little sleep. But logs mean very little, and some safety professionals instead recommend using smart technology for trucks. For example, devices are available that monitor the number of hours a truck is running.
Train and maintain. One of the simplest ways to reduce trucker highway fatalities is to promote driver training programs and proper vehicle maintenance. Both of these are too essential to be skimped on in the name of cost savings.
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