Driving a truck is the deadliest job in the U.S., feds say
New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms what most truckers already know — that they are doing the most dangerous job in America.
A December 17 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics examined data from 2018 to confirm that “truck driver” topped their list of the five deadliest jobs.
Deadliest Jobs in the U.S. in 2018
- Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers
- Construction Laborers
- Farmers, Ranchers, and other Agricultural Managers
- Grounds Maintenance Workers
- Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers.
According to the report, “Driver/sales workers and truck drivers had the most fatalities of any broad occupation group at 966. Among all detailed occupations, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had the most fatalities at 831.”
The report also confirmed that truck driver was the deadliest of the “independent worker” jobs (meaning contract or short term jobs): “Occupations with the most fatal work injuries to independent workers in 2018 were heavy and tractor trailer-truck drivers (96), followed by first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (61), and construction laborers (48).”
There were a total of 5,250 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2018. This is a a 2% increase from 5,147 in 2017.