KEN'S KORNER - AUGUST 2007

A JOB TO DIE FOR!
BY AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & DRIVER KEN SKAGGS

So, you think your job is dangerous? If so, are you doing all you can to minimize the risks you take? Thousands of people earn their money the hard way - risking their life on a daily basis. Are you one of them? Read on and find out. Despite all the precautions you take, your job may not be as safe as you think. And even when you do everything right, someone else’s error can cost you dearly.

Each and every year, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out a list of the top ten most dangerous jobs. Truck driving is always on that list. In 2004 and 2005, truck driving was the eighth most dangerous job – and to my surprise, even more dangerous than driving a taxi cab. You’d think it would be getting safer with all of the new laws they keep adding, but somehow it hasn’t improved much. Truck drivers still have a fatality rate of 29.1 per 100,000 according to the latest (2005) study.

Then, there are the ice road truckers. Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past couple of months (or on the road too long), you’ve probably seen the new TV show on the History Channel called Ice Road Truckers. It’s a reality show that follows a small trucking company in Canada as they truck across some of the coldest terrain in the world. Talk about dangerous - these guys drive heavy loads across frozen lakes that constantly crack under them everywhere they go. I wonder how the ice road truckers would fare if they had their own category in that study?

There are only a handful of drivers doing it, and yet, every year they experience fatalities in their small group. These truckers drive 15 MPH so they don’t crack the ice too much. Rookie ice road truckers sometimes try to go a little faster than they should, which causes the ice to crack and even creates holes behind them. They usually make it through okay, but the next truck coming across the ice behind them is sometimes in for a rude awakening when they fall into a hole or deep crack. The owner of the trucking company that the show is following can be pretty outspoken to his drivers sometimes, often scolding them like disobedient children. The first few times I saw him yell at his drivers, I thought, there is no way I would last a day working for a guy like that. But after watching the show a few times, I now know that lives are in great danger when drivers bend the rules, so his yelling is totally appropriate. He’s just trying to stay alive and keep his drivers alive too.

Although taxi driving didn’t make the list this time, it has in the past. But, just like ice road trucking being more dangerous than truck driving in general, taxi driving is much more dangerous in some places than others. Most notably, of course, is Chicago and New York City. About twenty years ago, I read that eight Chicago taxi drivers were killed in one year. And at that time, they only had 5,000 taxis. That’s one in 625 that got killed that year, or a fatality rate of 160 out of 100,000 (clearly more dangerous than any job on this top ten list).

Garbage collectors even made the list, above truck drivers. Apparently, it’s not just a dirty job, it’s a very dangerous one as well. Cars often hit garbage collectors, even more so than construction workers. They usually get struck as a result of hasty, impatient drivers passing them too quickly while they are walking around the truck tossing garbage in, just doing their job. I never would have guessed that, but the numbers don’t lie. Watch out for the other guy, indeed.

I know you must be wondering by now, what are the top ten most dangerous jobs? Well, here they are, from worst to best (if you can call it that) for 2005: fishermen, logging workers, aircraft pilots and freight engineers, iron and steel workers, refuse and recyclable collectors, farmers and ranchers, electric power line installers and repairers, truck drivers, agricultural workers and construction laborers. Other occupations that often make the list are taxi drivers, roofers and traveling salesmen.

As you can see, the single most dangerous job, according to this study, is fishermen. If you’ve ever seen the show Deadliest Catch, you have seen why. These guys get tossed around and beat up by the ocean on a daily basis. With a fatality rate of 118 per 100,000, these guys really lay it all on the line when they go to work. Fighting storms at sea and getting their catch while they can, these guys earn their money more than any other job I can think of. With rain and waves beating on them and their ships, they wind up getting swept off the deck every once in a while.

You may argue that most of these dangerous jobs pay well, so at least they are rewarded for their efforts. But I say, what good is money when you’re dead? I think too many people take money too seriously. To me, money is just a tool. If your toolbox is limited, you make due with what you have, that’s all. When I was a kid, I learned how to fix anything on my bike with a pipe wrench. Needless to say, my dad was not a tool-guy. All he had was a pipe wrench, a hammer and a screwdriver - that’s it. All of the nuts and bolts on my bike were rounded off from that pipe wrench, but I got it done. And, in the process I learned a few things, like how to make due with what you have. So, whether you are driving across frozen lakes, driving a garbage truck through alleys, or whatever, if you must do it, please, be careful out there.

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