Until recently, little focus has been placed on addressing work-related injuries within the trucking industry. Various job duties, such as loading/unloading freight, decoupling trailers, strapping down loads and ingress and egress from the cab and trailer, expose drivers to physical risk factors that contribute to occupational injuries. About one-fourth of all truck driver injuries in the United States are related to slips, trips, and falls near the truck (Helmkamp and Lundstrom, 2000).
The purpose of this descriptive analysis is to report on recent injuries in the trucking industry from the Trucking Injury Reduction Emphasis through Surveillance (TIRES) work-related injury surveillance system in Washington State. Data from the TIRES program allows directed education and prevention activities for the most common and highest cost injuries in the trucking industry (Tires, 2013).