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MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY AT WORK

Motor Vehicle Crash Facts

Millions of workers drive or ride in a vehicle as part of their jobs, and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States.1 All workers are at risk of crashes, whether they drive light or heavy vehicles, or whether driving is a main or incidental job duty.

Leading cause of work-related deaths

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From 2003-2015 there were over 23,000 work-related motor vehicle deaths in the United States.1

Crashes are costly to employers

Costs of Motor Vehicle Crashes to Employers - 2015

 

Get the numbers: NETS, Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes to Employers – 2015

Fatal work-related crashes – the details

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The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries found that in 2015:2

  • 1,264 U.S. workers driving or riding in a motor vehicle on a public road died in a work-related crash (26% of all work-related deaths).
    • Among these 1,264 deaths, the Transportation and Warehousing industry had the highest share (30%), followed by Agriculture (14%), Construction (13%), and Wholesale and Retail Trade (8%).
    • The highest proportion of roadway fatalities involved semi, tractor-trailer, and tanker trucks (37%), followed by 17% in pick-up trucks and 9% each in delivery trucks/vans and automobiles.3
  • An additional 542 deaths in 2015 (11% of all work-related deaths) involved workers driving or riding in a motor vehicle off a public road, or pedestrians struck by motor vehicles. 2

Learn more

Sources:

  1. Bureau of Labor Statistics [2004-2016]. TABLE A-2. Fatal occupational injuries resulting from transportation incidents and homicides, all United States, 2003-2015.
    NOTE: Most of the vehicles associated with workplace MVC fatalities are “motorized land vehicles,” (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, vans), defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as those “which are operated primarily on highways and other public roadways and used for transportation, hauling, delivering, and emergencies.” However, some fatalities, particularly those which occur off public roadways, involve industrial vehicles such as farm tractors, mobile machines such as cranes and pavers, and all-terrain vehicles.
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics [2016]. TABLE A-2. Fatal occupational injuries resulting from transportation incidents and homicides, all United States, 2015.
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics [2016]. Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2015. Create customized tables.

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