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Trucking Facts

Did you know?
Trucking is the backbone of the American economy

There is a saying that “if you bought it, a truck brought it!”

In 2006:

  • 69% of all freight traveled on a truck at some point! (1)
  • Trucks transported10.7 billion tons of freight (1)
  • Trucking was a 645 billion dollar industry (1)

Truck drivers have an impressive safety record

  • Truck drivers have half the crash rate per vehicle mile compared to passenger car drivers! (2,3)
  • Truck drivers are coded with lower rates of misbehaviors than passenger car drivers (2,3)

Truck driver health is a national priority

Truck driving is a demanding profession with long work hours and many other health and safety challenges.  Knowledge is power, and drivers need access to the best information possible to defend and protect themselves on the road.  Truck drivers experience:

  • 10% of all workplace fatalities in the US (4)
  • 8% of all workplace musculoskeletal injuries (5)
  • 10-12 years shortened life span (6)

References

  1. American Trucking Associations.  Professional truck drivers and the trucking industry.  Retrieved Feb 2008, from http://www.trucksbringit.com/NR/rdonlyres/80F5920E-EE97-4435-A88E-7670BD9EB98F/0/ProfessionalTruckDrivers_TruckingIndustry.pdf
  2. Knipling, R.  2007a.  Workshop introduction: The human factors of commercial driving.  Annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington DC.
  3. Knipling, R.  2007b.  The applications of naturalistic driving data: What does it tell us about commercial driving safety?  Annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington DC.
  4. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005b, Number and median days of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses with days away from work involving musculoskeletal disorders by selected occupations in 2005.  Retrieved May 2007 from http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/ostb1656.pdf
  5. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005a, National census of fatal occupational injuries in 2005.  Retrieved May 2007 from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf
  6. T. Weakly (director of operations for the Owner Operators and Independent Drivers Association Foundation), personal communication, January 2006.