Towing industry death rate 15X the average for private industry
Until now, nonfatal injuries and deaths in the motor vehicle towing industry have been largely overlooked
The motor vehicle towing industry has a higher rate of work-related injury and death compared to other industries, according to NIOSH research presented at the National Occupational Injury Research Symposium in Morgantown, West Virginia. Yet studies historically have focused on the safety of other first responders, including law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and emergency medical services workers.
To address this research gap, NIOSH investigators recently undertook one of the first national studies of nonfatal injuries and deaths in the motor-vehicle towing industry. Data for this study came from publicly available information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) for the years 2011 through 2016. This study reported counts and rates of nonfatal injury and death in the motor vehicle towing industry. The rates for this industry were compared to the rates for all U.S. private industries.