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Quantitative and Narrative Analysis of Dump Truck-Related Injuries and Fatalities in the United States

  • Terry L. Bunn
  • , Caitlin A. Northcutt
  • , Rebecca Honaker
  • , Patrick Maloney

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Dump truck safety recommendations have been implemented by companies, but a comprehensive study of risk factors associated with dump truck injuries and fatalities has not been performed. Published research specifically focusing on dump truck injuries is limited. The purpose of this descriptive study was to characterize risk factors associated with dump truck-related inspection cases reported by the OSHA in the United States. Dump truck inspections during 2016–2020 were obtained from the online OSHA IMIS database. Pearson’s chi-square test and logistic regression were performed. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) using PROC MIXED and a generalized linear mixed model was calculated on 122 closed dump truck-related inspection cases. One half of dump truck worker fatalities resulted in a serious OSHA violation, whereas three quarters of nonfatal dump truck worker injuries resulted in an ‘other’ or no OSHA violation; 22% of fatalities involved the dump truck backing up. A nonfatal injury narrative often involved the words ‘finger’, ‘tailgate’, and ‘bed’, whereas the words ‘trailer’, ‘asphalt’, ‘load’, and ‘loader’ were mentioned more often in fatalities. A fatal dump truck injury was three times more likely to be associated with a serious OSHA violation compared to a nonfatal dump truck injury. Industries should provide initial and refresher worker safety training to dump truck drivers and other employees who work within the dump truck hazard zone, particularly employees who utilize dump trucks for working with asphalt or around power lines, and employees who repair dump trucks.

Original languageEnglish
Article number17
JournalSafety
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 by the authors.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a cooperative agreement 5 U60OH008483 totaling $1,601,266.00 with 0% financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by the NIOSH, CDC, HHS, or U.S. government. For more information, please visit www.cdc.gov/niosh. The funding source was not involved in the study design; data collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Funders
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
      SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

    Keywords

    • IMIS
    • OSHA serious violation
    • dump truck
    • injuries
    • run over

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
    • Safety Research
    • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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