What is an average rate of work injuries for drivers?

Dunno, but the only injury I've had in my year of trucking was a groin pull. Actually, technically I just re-aggravated it. I went to step up in the cab of my truck and felt the pull.

The initial injury happened 5 years ago when I was walking through a hallway. It was raining, so the floor was wet. I slid and tried to save myself from falling and basically did the splits. I've never been in so much pain in my life! I went to the hospital, they checked me out, sent me home with pain meds. Told me to ice it. Other than that you can't do anything but let it take its course. Every now and then it bothers me some.

 

Injuries are report-able to OSHA I believe.

Also Deaths.

Your lower back pain is the least of the problems. People have fallen off the high flatbed load head first onto concrete to become a living vegatble fed and watered in a nursing home his remaining year of life due to machoism against wearing harness to ceiling while tarping. PLOPT!

Ive taken about roughly 10 hits related to the truck or inside the facility while loading and gotten hurt over 31 years. That's one every three working for companies ranging from 10 people to 15000 people. 6 of those hits were carted to ER with company paying for it or shipper/reciever compenstation for example someone did not clean up a water spill in Grand Union of Albany, I pulling on a pallet jack loaded with eggs from Nearby Farms in Westminster Maryland in 1990, slipped on that water. Knee went slamming into Pallet Jack possibly breaking it. Troy ER took care of me and checked same. I was unloaded by GU staff and on the road 5 hours later, not shifting very well and looking for a place to rest a week myself.

For everyone of me and my hits, Ive seen a dozen truckers get hit and sometimes killed. You tend to get kind of good at first aid for those who can be saved and kind of hard for those who cannot after their brains have spilled all around...

 

What about the places that don't offer ceiling harness for tarping? Still Machoism? Seems a little far fetched

 

If they dont offer safety harness then dont put yourself in danger. If your injured in the process then who suffers? You and your family not worth it. You want a high load tarped make it safe.

 

So if an O/O books a load or a company driver gets assigned a tarp load only to find out when they arrive no safety harness is available, call the broker or dispatch and refuse the load?

 

I believe in my opinion It's a dang if you and dead if you don't, but don't take my word. Research it heavily and make up your own mind. Be safe out there.

 

Ceiling harness? Bwahaha! Maybe at the higher class lumber mills, but mostly no. As long as you don't have to deal with a hard cross wind and you have technique, you can do it. I was a middle aged broad, don't make me embarrass you!

I did fall off the deck once, on my fat butt. I had a hard hat on. Everyone in the steel mill ran to me but what did I do? Jump up and say, "I'm ok!!".

I did tweek an ankle stepping out of the cab at twilight into a pothole in LA. Drove to MD, unloaded, reloaded and home to KC. No med care.

Then there was the time my hand was crushed between a dolly ring and a pindle hook. That was a work comp case. Sucking Vitran.,,

 

That all depends on whether you are a JB Hunt driver or someone who works for a small family-owned company that has strict hiring standards.