Table 3. Job-related fatalities of taxicab drivers by selected characteristics, 1992-95

Number | Percent Number | Percent
431 400 Total . 431 100
Time of incident
106 25 92 ai
113 26 538 13
113 26 31 7
99 23 38 9
4 10
91 21
Employee status 80 19
‘Wage and salary workers 350 at
8 19
Gonder
413 96
8 4 Location
Home ... 6 1
Age Street and highway 355 82
interstate, freeway, or exp: 19 4
Other state or U.S. highway 9 2
14 3 Local road or street . 123 29
116 27 Public buildin 6 1
160 37 Other or unspecified 64 15
82 19 Parking lot, garage
28 6 {except employer's premises) .. 24 6
3 7
203 47
157 36
34 8
37 9
141 33
38 9
Hispanic origin 35 8
x» 7
Hispanic 58 13 23 5
34 8
7 2
5 1
4 1
27 6
6 1 10 2
4 1 4 1
78 8 24 5
63 15 7 2
“a 10 6 1
8 2 24 5
10 2 7 2
6 1 13 3
Moving/standing vehicle, equip —in roadway 7 2 n 3
Vehicle struck object. equipment on side of road. 9 2 13 3
‘Noncollision incident 4 1 6 1
4 1 13 3
4 1 13 3
4 3 4 4
‘Worker struck by vehicle, equipment in roadway . 6 1 " 3
Worker struck by vehicle, equip. on side of road .. 5 1 9 2
Assaults and violent acts 342 79 " 3
Homicides 338 78 5 1
1 3 10 2
301 70 6 1
7 4 10 2
5 1 93 22
* States with 10 or more job-related taxicab driver fatalities. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of
Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992-95,
NOTE: Totals for major categoriés may include subcatagories not shown

separately. Percentages may net ade tools because of ouncing,

59 Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997


Tabie 2. job-related nonfatal injuries and linesses Involving days away from work of truck and taxicab
drivers by selected characteristics, 1995

7 Truck drivers Taxicab drivers
Characteristic
Number | Percent | Number | Percent
151,338 | 100 | 1,328 100
78,360 52 795 60
41,017 7 5
7,035 5 — —
14,499 10 192 10
6,914 5 4 1
9 6 4a 3
4,013 3 16 1
(23,684 16 283 21
7,886 5 s7 4
2,559 2 _ ond
5,128 3 89 7
63,409 42 45 34
42,102 28 22 24
8,962 6 83 6
19,718 13 183 14
695, 4 15 1
3,107 2 37 3
3,480 2 62 5
37,331 25 255 19
14,003 9 57 4
6919 5 37 3
16,035 " 238 18
1,831 1 60 5
. 20 7 6
7.616 5 = =
15,635 10 36 3
4,412 3 = =
13,791 9 74 6
15,564 10 75 6
5,979 4 = _
43,605 2 443 33
26,232 17 279 21
1,059 1 = =
1,706 1 16 1
18,474 12 522 39
— 96 3
20,764 13 85 6
Age
1,064 1 _
11,046 7 45 3
47,953 32 370 28
46,479 3 442 33
30,281 20 315 24
11,379 8 100 38
1,070 1 39 3
2,066 1 7 1
Race / Hispanic origin
88,438 582 44
14,438 10 150 1
38,608 465 35
9,854 7 131 10
141,101 93 | 1,104 83
657 6 225 7

NOTE: Dashes indicate less than .05 percent or data that —_not add to totals because of rounding.
do not meet publication guidelines. Totals for major categories
may include subcategories not shown separately. Figures may ‘SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and llinesses, 1995

Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997 58


Table 4. Occupations with the highest rates' of job-related homicide, 1995

Number of fatalities Homicides

Occupation Employed per

Total | Homicides | (000s) | 100,000

workers.
6210 1,024 | 126,248 1
99 Co 213 32
174 81 1,051 8
101 59 899 7
58 46 1276. 4
116 107 2727 4
212 133 4,480 3

‘ The rate of job-related homicide per 100,000 workers the rate calculations were annual average estimates of em-
was calculated as follows: ployed civilians, 16 years of age and older, from the Current

(IN/W) x 100,000;N=the number ofjob-relatedhomi- Population Survey, 1995. These employment-based rates
cide victims, 16 years of age and older; W = the number of measure the incidence of job-related homicide for all work-
employed workers. The employed worker figures used in _ers in an occupation regardless of exposure time.

Table 5. Activity of dismounted truck drivers when struck by vehicle, 1992-95.

Activity Number Percent
234 100
WNT 50

14 6
14 6
8 29
16 7
16 7
23 10
19 8
59 25
16 7

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately.

Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997 60


Safety and Health

Fatalities and
Injuries Among

Truck and
Taxicab Drivers

BY ANDREW T. KNESTAUT

Taxicab drivers transport thousands of people every day,
and truckdrivers move much of the goods we buy and sell.
Business and daily life would be difficult without them.

Workers who drive for a living must deal with bad roads,
traffic jams, and long hours. Truckdrivers and taxicab driv-
ers face the possibility of serious injury and death from high-
way traffic incidents and assaults. Between 1992-95, al-
most 3,000 truckdrivers, and more than 400 taxicab drivers
lost their lives while working.

From 1992-95, truckdriving had the most fatalities' of
all occupations, accounting for 12 percent of all worker
deaths. About two-thirds of the fatally injured truckers were
involved in highway crashes. Truckdrivers also had more
nonfatal injuries (over 151,000) than workers in any other
occupation in 1995". Half of the nonfatal injuries were se-
tious sprains and strains; this may be attributed to the fact
that many truckdrivers must unload the goods they trans-
port. (Tables 1 and 2 show other characteristics of
truckdriver fatalities and nonfatal injuries.*)

Deadly assaults claim the lives of more taxicab drivers
than any other fatal events. From 1992-95, over three-quar-
ters of fatally injured cabdrivers were victims of homicide.
In contrast, just one-tenth of the fatally injured drivers were
involved in vehicle collisions. Taxicab drivers had rela-
tively few nonfatal injuries—about 1,300 in 1995; only 3
percent were due to nonfatal assaults.. These figures sug-
gest that cabdrivers would have relatively safe jobs if deadly
violence did not affect their work environments. (Tables 2
and 3 show other characteristics of taxicab driver fatalities
and nonfatal injuries.)

Taxicab driver homicides
Cabdrivers had the highest homicide rate—32 homicides
per 100,000—among the occupations most affected by

Andrew T. Knestaut is an economist in the Office of Safety, Health and
‘Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Telephone (202) 606-6175.

55 Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997

deadly violence. This rate is four times more than that of
police officers. Robbery appeared to be the motive in many
cases. About half of the murders occurred between 8 p.m.
and 4 a.m. Half of the murdered taxicab drivers had head
injuries, most from gunfire. Table 4 shows the occupations
with the highest rates of homicide.

All workers in occupations listed in table 4 are affected
in some manner by theft. Several factors help to explain
why taxicab drivers are frequent victims of this crime: They
work alone, frequently at night, and handle cash. In addi-
tion, taxicab drivers tend to work in areas, such as inner
cities, with higher crime rates.

High crime areas also have higher incidences of violent
crime, which may explain why taxicab drivers are not only
robbed, but murdered as well. For example, all 35 cab driv-
ers fatally injured in the Bronx, New York, between 1992-
95 were victims of homicide. As noted above, cabdrivers
had few nonfatal injuries, and very few of these were due to
assaults. This suggests two situational extremes when cab-
drivers were robbed or assaulted: (1) Drivers were not physi-
cally harmed, or (2) drivers were fatally injured. Further
analysis of the factors behind these deadly assaults is not
within the scope of this study because they are linked to the
prevalence of violent crime in general.

Deadly violence affected cabdrivers in a variety of situa-
tions. In some instances, taxicab drivers were robbed and
killed after responding to “setup” requests for taxis. Sev-
eral cabdrivers were killed during disputes with customers,
or when minor traffic incidents incited the persons involved
to commit acts of violence. Still other drivers were killed
by gunfire exchanged between other persons.

injuries and fatalities of truckdrivers

Several factors contribute to fatal highway crashes of
truckdrivers, including: Type of truck driven, vehicle main-
tenance, and weather conditions. Two-thirds of the
truckdrivers fatally injured in highway crashes were behind


the wheel of a tractor-trailer truck. Brake failure was re-
ported as a factor in about two dozen of the incidents, and
bad weather was involved in another dozen.

Driver fatigue may be another cause of highway crashes
involving truckdrivers. Driving can be an exhausting ac-
tivity, especially in heavy traffic or bad weather. A third of
the fatal highway incidents occurred between 12 a.m. and
8 a.m., when the need for rest may be greatest. But almost
half occurred during standard work hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Asleep at the wheel” is mentioned as a suspected factor in
only 4 percent of the trucker highway fatality cases. It may
be, however, that fatigue is a factor in more crashes, but it
is neither suspected, nor recorded in some instances.

Although it may be expected that more fatal collisions
between trucks and trains occur at night, just under three-
quarters of the 94 collisions occurred during daytime hours,
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (See table 1.) Over 200 truckdrivers were
fatally struck by vehicles while out of their trucks; half of
these occurred during hours of twilight or darkness, 4 p.m.
to 8am. Yet, almost half were fatally struck during the
day. Table 5 shows the activities of dismounted truckdrivers
when they were struck by vehicles and fatally injured.

As noted in table 2, half of the nonfatal truckdriver inju-
ties in 1995 were serious sprains and strains, which again

may be related to the fact truckdrivers often unload their
own truck. The sprains and strains were likely the result of
overexertion during unloading, and when drivers were
struck by the objects they were moving. The back was the
part of body affected in over a quarter of the truck drivers’
nonfatal injury cases.

An underlying factor explaining these injuries may be
the sedentary nature of truckdriving. Truckdrivers spend
many hours behind a steering wheel. Tight delivery sched-
ules may mean drivers have little time to waste at delivery
sites, so they move heavy items immediately upon arrival
to save time. Strenuous activity after hours of sitting, with-
out time to stretch stiff muscles, may help explain why driv-
ers sustain these injuries.

In addition, some truckdrivers may not be aware of proper

" lifting techniques, or the benefits of wearing back support

gear. Some drivers may be provided with lifting equipment,
but need additional or improved training in the proper use
of it. Doubtless, however, despite the use of proper lifting
techniques and equipment, injuries will still occur.

Truckdrivers and taxicab drivers make significant con-
tributions to the national economy. Almost 3 million per-
sons worked as truckdrivers, and over 200,000 persons drove
taxicabs in 1995.

—ENDNOTES—

' The fatal work injury data were compiled by the Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (COD. This program, which
has collected occupational fatality data nationwide since 1992, uses diverse
data sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal work injuries. Information
abouteach workplace fatality (occupation and other worker characteristics,
equipment being used, and circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross-
referencing source documents, such as death certificates, workers’ compensa-
tion records, and reports to Federal and State agencies. This method assures
counts aré as complete and accurate as possible.

2 The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational Injuries and

Itnesses (SOI) produced the nonfatal injury estimates. This program col-
lects information from a random sample of about 250,000 establishments
representing most of private industry... Worker characteristics are collected
only for those workers sustaining injuries and illnesses requiring days away
from work to recuperate.

* Comparison of fatal and nonfatal data is problematic, because the scope
and methodology of CFOI and SOI are different. CFO! fatality data pre-
sented in this study are for 1992-95, and SOI nonfatal injury data are for
1995. For more information on CFOI or SOI, access the Internet at
wwm.bls.gov/oshhome. htm, or email cfoistaff@ bls, gov

Compensation and Working Conditions Fall 1997 56


Table 1. Job-related fatatities of truck drivers by selected characteristics, 1992-95

Number | Percent Number | Percent
2,953 100 2,953 100
Time of incident
699 24 311 1"
739 25 486 16
768 26 708 24
749 25 710 24
363 12
240 8
135 5
2.696 ot
‘257 9 industry
Private industry ... 2,908 98
Agrcuture, forestry, and fishing 56 2
Mining 68 2
2,870 97 Oil and gas extraction 37 1
83 3 nstruction .. 152 5
Heavy construction, excep! 73 2
Highway and street conctructon. 48 2
‘Special trade contractors .. 60 2
‘Manufacturing 281 10
36 1 Food and kindred products .. 55 2
168 6 Lumber and wood products 86 3
674 23 Logging 57 2
802 27 stone, cay and glass products 53 2
711 24 ‘Conorets, gypsum, ard plaster products . 45 2
436 15 Transportation and public utes 1,721 58
122 4 sit 1,628 55
1,555 53
351 12
3891 30
243 8
2,489 84 97 3
342 12 145 5
23 1 products .. 59 2
99 3 Petroleum and petroleum products 42 1
Retailtrade 77 6
41 1
Hispanic origin Services 155 5
Business services 3 2
218 7 ‘Auto repair, services, and parking 59 2
‘Automotive services, except repai 45 2
or ure Other or wrapectiod s 2
‘Contact with objects and equipment. 251 8
- Struck by object . . 156 5
‘Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects .. 75 3
Falls .. : 72 2 325 "1
Fall from nonmoving vehicle .. 3 1 60 2
‘Exposure to harmful substances or environments 93 3 40 1
Contact with overhead power fines 43 1 261 9
fransportation incidents 2,961 80 148 5
1,893 64 120 4
692 23 119 4
166 6 107 4
231 8 106 4
78 3 96 3
94 3
49 2 88 3
7 52 2 82 3
Vehicle struck object, equipment on side of road . 389 13 73 2
Noncollision incident 670 23 67 2
Betas or overtul 498 7 65 2
‘off highway—no collisio 130 4 61 2
Nontighway incident, excopt ral waler 120 4 61 2
46 60 2
Worker suck by ‘by vehicle, mobile equipment 234 8 59 2
Worker struck by vehicle, equipment in roadway. 69 2 57 2
Worker struck by vehicle, equip. on side of road. 62 2 57 2
‘Worker struck in parking lot or non-road area .. 1 3 56 2
‘incident. 94 3 55 2
30 1 54 2
126 4 54 2
96 3 628 21
30 1
20 1

Thea bx toro a Bay rod rock swans a Setar

? States with more than 50 truck driver fatalities.

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown
‘Separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.

57 Compensation and. Working Conditions Fall 1997

‘SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,

‘Census of Fatal Occupational injuries, 1992-95