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NIOSH Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Fact Sheet: Truck Transportation (NAICS 484)

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March, 2012
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2012-135
Related Publications:
Air Transportation | Couriers/Messengers | Transit/Ground Transportation | TWU | Utilities | Warehousing/Storage | Water Transportation

Number, Rate, and Costs of Fatal Occupational Injuries in the U.S. Truck Transportation Industry by Selected Characteristics, 2003–2006.

Number, Rate, and Costs of Fatal Occupational Injuries in the U.S. Truck Transportation Industry by Selected Characteristics, 2003–2006.
Costs (2006 Dollars)
Characteristic Number of Fatalities Fatality Rate (per 100,000 workers) Mean (thousands) Median (thousands) Total(millions)
All U.S. Industries 22,197 3.9 $960 $944 $21,316
All Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities 3,704 12.9 944 974 3,496
All Truck Transportation 2,167 27.8 902 1,000 1,954
Year
2003 514 28.4 864 959 444
2004 517 27.0 919 1,018 475
2005 586 28.8 904 1,013 530
2006 550 27.0 919 1,015 505
Sex
Male 2,088 30.6 895 997 1,869
Female 79 8.2 1,078 1,129 85
Age Group
16-19 7 7.9 853 909 6
20-24 59 15.1 1,083 1,088 64
25-34 324 19.9 1,206 1,216 391
35-44 531 23.7 1,203 1,196 639
45-54 634 31.1 945 949 599
55-64 450 39.3 532 541 239
65+ 162 62.1 98 71 16
Race
White 1,081 27.5 894 992 1,610
Black 268 26.7 911 1,005 244
Other1 98 41.0 1,019 1,123 100
Ethnicity2
Not Hispanic 1,924 28.8 887 983 1,707
Hispanic 232 20.8 1,031 1,123 239
Selected SOC Occupation Group
Construction and Extraction 5 32.4 977 1,016 5
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 17 6.1 923 1,028 16
Management Occupations 5 1.4 1,718 1,570 9
Office and Administrative Support 6 0.8 1,019 1,095 6
Production 5 9.1 926 1,069 5
Transportation and Material Moving 2,120 35.0 899 998 1,906
Selected Event or Exposure
02 Struck by object 132 1.7 841 898 111
03 Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects 48 0.6 902 1,047 43
11 Fall to lower level 58 0.7 528 466 31
13 Fall on same level 11 0.1 756 714 8
31 Contact with electric current 10 0.1 983 970 9
32 Contact with temperature extremes 9 0.1 983 970 9
34 Exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances 36 0.5 1,025 1,108 37
38 Oxygen deficiency, n.e.c. 6 0.1 1,122 1,192 7
41 Highway accident 1,544 19.8 920 1,019 1,420
42 Nonhighway accident, except rail, air, water 17 0.2 813 841 14
43 Pedestrian, nonpassenger struck by vehicle, mobile equipment 162 2.1 874 931 142
44 Railway accident 44 0.6 868 975 38
51 Fire–unintended or uncontrolled 7 0.1 1,036 1,028 7
52 Explosion 10 0.1 946 970 9
61 Assaults and violent acts by person(s) 24 0.3 988 1,075 24
62 Self-inflicted injury 32 0.4 1,031 1,131 33
Selected Source of Injury
07 Chemical products–general 32 0.4 1,081 1,135 35
11 Containers–nonpressurized 12 0.2 903 979 11
13 Containers–variable restraint 14 0.2 792 820 11
16 Skids, pallets 5 0.1 683 726 3
32 Construction, logging, and mining machinery 9 0.1 944 1,046 8
34 Material handling machinery 5 0.1 291 118 1
41 Building materials–solid elements 37 0.5 901 1,049 33
42 Fasteners, connectors, ropes, ties 10 0.1 912 1,073 9
44 Machine, tool, and electric parts 7 0.1 981 1,012 7
48 Vehicle and mobile equipment parts 9 0.1 864 951 8
5* Persons, plants, animals, and minerals 13 0.2 643 739 8
62 Floors, walkways, ground surfaces 74 0.9 632 644 47
82 Highway vehicle, motorized 1,836 23.6 913 1,015 1,675
85 Plant and industrial powered vehicles, tractors 20 0.3 962 969 19
91 Ammunition 31 0.4 1,007 1,084 31
93 Atmospheric and environmental conditions 12 0.2 890 926 11

NOTE: Asterisks denote a summary level code not assigned to individual cases.

1This category includes all other races, such as American Indian and Asian, as well as unknown or missing races.

2Numbers are not reported for “unknown”, “not classified” or “not reported” categories.

Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Model

Theoretical Basis of Cost Estimation

The cost to society of a workplace fatality was estimated using the cost-of-illness approach, which combines direct and indirect costs to yield an overall cost of an occupational fatal injury. For these calculations, only medical expenses were used to estimate the direct cost associated with the fatality. The indirect cost was derived by calculating the present value of future earnings summed from the year of death until the decedent would have reached age 67, accounting for the probability of survival were it not for the premature death. (For more information, see Biddle, E [2004]. Economic Cost of Fatal Occupational Injuries in the United States, 1980–1997. Contemporary Economic Policy 22(3):370–381 or Biddle, E [2009]. The Cost of Fatal Injuries to Civilian Workers in the US, 1992-2001and Biddle E and Keane P [2011]. The Economic Burden of Occupational Injuries to Civilian Workers in the United States, 1992-2002. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS.)

Mathematical Representation of Indirect Costs

formula for PVF = present discounted value of loss per person due to an individual occupational fatal injury

where:

Mathematical Representation of Indirect Costs
Variable Definition
PVF = present discounted value of loss per person due to an individual occupational fatal injury
Py,q,s (n) = probability that a person of age y, race q, and sex s will survive to age n
q = race of the individual
s = sex of the individual
n = age if the individual had survived
Ys, j(n) = median annual compensation of an employed person of sex s, specific occupation j, and age n (includes median annual earnings, benefits, and wage growth adjustments)
j = specific occupation of individual at death
formula for mean annual imputed value of household production (h) of a person of sex s and age n = mean annual imputed value of household production (h) of a person of sex s and age n
g = earnings growth rate attributable to overall productivity
y = age of the individual at death
r = real discount rate (3%)

Data Sources

Fatality data: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI)external icon. This research was conducted with restricted access to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. These data exclude military personnel, decedents with unknown age or sex, and fatalities occurring in New York City. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the BLS.

Probability of survival: National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics.

Median annual earnings: BLS Occupational Employment Statistics Surveyexternal icon. Wage data are based on the occupation of the decedent and the year and State of death adjusted by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Deflatorexternal icon to the base year of dollar. The wage growth adjustment, which is the rate of change in wages between age groups, was calculated by NIOSH using BLS Current Population Survey data.

Benefits: BLS Employer Cost for Employee Benefitsexternal icon. Benefits data are based on the year of death adjusted by the GDP Deflator.

Mean annual home production: Expectancy Dataexternal icon. Data are derived through a time diary study sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and conducted by the University of Maryland.

Earnings growth rate: BLS Employment Compensation Index (ECI)external icon.

Medical costs: National Council on Compensation Insuranceexternal icon. This is a single 4-year average medical cost.

Employment estimates for rate calculations: BLS Current Population Surveyexternal icon.

Fatality Rate Calculations

Fatality rates were calculated by NIOSH and may differ from previously published BLS CFOI rates. Fatality rates were calculated as deaths per 100,000 workers. Fatality rates for sex, race, age group, and occupation were calculated using employment estimates by the individual characteristic within the specific industry. Employment estimates for the specific industry were used to generate rates for event and source.

Classification Systems

Classification Systems
Industry: 2002 National Industry Classification System (NAICS)external icon
Occupation: 2000 Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC)external icon
Event: 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS)external icon

NIOSH Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Fact Sheet: Truck Transportation (NAICS 484) pdf icon[PDF – 339 KB]

Page last reviewed: June 6, 2014
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health