WHS Profile: Truck drivers

Figure 1: Truck drivers are typically older than other Australian workers

Proportion of workers by Age group and occupation (2021) 

Truck drivers face significant risks of traumatic injuries and death when performing tasks revolving around the operation of their vehicle.

Significant work has been undertaken to reduce road fatalities and make roads safer. However, according to Safe Work Australia’s Traumatic injuries fatalities dataset, which includes information on all work-related traumatic injury fatalities in Australia, truck drivers experience the largest number of injury fatalities of any occupation by a clear margin, as shown by Figure 2. This has remained the case over recent years.

Figure 2: Truck drivers have the highest number of fatalities amongst all occupations, significantly higher than the next occupation

Top ten occupations by number of work-related traumatic injury fatalities (2014-2023)  

Over the last ten years, truck drivers have had an extremely high fatality frequency rate of 22.6 fatalities per 100,000 workers; this figure is significantly higher than the fatality frequency rate for all occupations of 1.5. This means for every 100,000 truck drivers, at least 22 have died per year while performing their work duties.

Over the same period, nearly three in four truck drivers that were killed in the course of their work died due to a work-related ‘Vehicle incident’^iv. Of these vehicle incidents, more than half (63%) were single vehicle incidents. The next largest contributor to fatalities for truck drivers involved ‘Being hit by moving objects.’

Figure 3: Truck drivers face disproportionately high fatality rates, even when compared to other dangerous occupations

Fatality frequency rates for selected occupations (2014-2023)^v

Vehicle incidents with heavy vehicles such as trucks are more likely to result in serious injuries or fatalities, due to the size and scale of the vehicle. Fatalities due to ‘Being hit by moving objects’ mainly involved truck drivers being struck by their own vehicle while carrying out tasks associated with its operation. Duties such as vehicle maintenance, loading of equipment and inspection of equipment all contribute greatly to the activities that lead to fatalities for truck drivers. 

Occupational risk profile

Many day-to-day tasks for truck drivers are technically complex and physically demanding. 

Safe Work Australia’s Beta Occupational Hazards Dataset shows that truck drivers are more frequently exposed to hazards like ‘Frequency of decision making’, ‘Consequence of error’ and ‘Impact of decisions on co-workers or company results’, when compared to all other occupations^vi. Figure 4 highlights these increased frequencies of exposure for different hazards. 

Truck drivers are also more often exposed to body positioning hazards like ‘Spending time sitting down’ and ‘Exposed to whole body vibration’ when compared to all other occupations.

Figure 4: Hazard exposure rating for All Occupations and Truck drivers

Figure 5: Serious claims for Truck drivers remain consistently high with rates of serious claims almost always double that of all occupations.

Number of serious claims and serious claim frequency rate^vii by Year for Truck drivers, compared to all occupations.

Table 1: Truck drivers consistently face higher rates of serious claims across all age groups compared to all occupations, these rates increase with age

Serious claims frequency rates for all occupations and Truck drivers by sex and age group (2012-13 to 2022-23p)^viii.

Age group	Under 25	25-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65 and over
All occupations
Female	4.1	3.7	4.9	6.8	8.3	7.4
Male	7.3	5.6	5.7	6.9	8.2	6.7
Total	5.9	4.8	5.4	6.9	8.2	7.0
Truck drivers
Female	7.7	11.4	13.2	14.7	14.7	8.4
Male	8.8	9.5	11.7	13.6	15.1	16
Total	8.7	9.6	11.7	13.6	15.1	15.9

 

The highest frequency rates of serious workers’ compensation claims are observed in older male truck drivers, with this figure nearly double the frequency rate observed for male workers across all occupations and most age groups.

The mechanism of injury or disease identifies the overall action, exposure or event that best described the circumstances that resulted in the most serious injury or disease. 

For example – “A sedan and a truck collided with each other while turning at an intersection.” 

The mechanism of injury or disease would be identified as ‘Vehicle incident’

The breakdown agency of injury/disease is intended to identify the object, substance or circumstance that was principally involved in, or most closely associated with, the point at which things started to go wrong and which ultimately led to the most serious injury or disease. 

For example – “A truck driver fell from the top of their truck while inspecting whether freight was properly attached.” 

The breakdown agency of injury would be identified as ‘Trucks, semi-trailers or lorries.’

Truck drivers encounter specific risks that centre around the handling and management of their vehicle and cargo. 

Over the last ten years, ‘Body stressing’ and ‘Falls, trips and slips of a person’ have been the most common causes of serious workers’ compensation claims lodged by truck drivers, accounting for an average of 68% of all serious claims during this period. This proportion is eight percentage points higher than the average for all occupations. 

Truck drivers often engage in prolonged sedentary behaviour, spending extended periods behind the wheel. Over time, this inactivity can contribute to musculoskeletal injuries, which develop due to the lack of regular movement.  

Truck drivers need to complete routine tasks associated with their vehicle such as inspecting or loading freight; these routine tasks often place them in dangerous positions. These tasks often involve climbing on top of a vehicle or trailer, putting workers at risk of falls.  

Figure 6: For Truck drivers, the leading mechanisms of injuries for serious claims are Body stressing and Falls, trips and slips 

Number of Serious claims for Truck drivers by mechanisms of injury/illness (2012-13 to 2022-23p)^viii 

Figure 7: The makeup of Falls, trips and slips claims for Truck drivers consists of a much higher proportion of Falls from a height when compared to All occupations

‘Falls, trips and slips of a person’ Mechanism of injury breakdown for serious claims by occupation (2022-23p) 

Latest data^x shows that more than 1 in 5 serious workers’ compensation claims for truck drivers involved a ‘Fall from a height.’ Truck drivers had a frequency rate of 1.6 for serious claims due to ‘Falls from a height’; this means that, for every million hours worked, 1.6 truck drivers have been seriously injured due to a fall from a height. This frequency rate of serious claims was around four times higher than the rate for all occupations.

• The median compensation paid  for serious claims involving ‘Falls from a height’ was nearly $7,000 greater than the average across all occupations.
• The median time loss for serious claims involving ‘Falls from a height’ was two weeks longer than the average across all occupations.

Truck drivers, fatigue and health issues

Many vehicle incidents have been attributed to fatigue, with the National Road Safety Strategy 2010‑2020 from the Australian Transportation Council finding that 20% to 30% of fatalities and 8% of total serious injuries from road incidents were linked to fatigue^xiii. 

A driver’s alertness can be impacted by a variety of factors such as number of hours worked, time of day, provision of poor accommodation, excessive vibration, driver health and driving conditions. These factors all impact a truck driver’s ability to perform duties at work safely. 

Due to the nature of their work, truck drivers regularly work extended hours, with many often working outside of usual business hours. These factors contribute to increased fatigue, which can lead to a range of health and social issues, such as heart disease, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disorders, anxiety and depression.  

A health survey conducted by Monash University in partnership with the Transport Workers Union, Linfox and SafeWork New South Wales reflects this. The survey found that nearly 30% of truck drivers were diagnosed with three or more medical conditions (this figure is 22% higher than the national average)^xiv. The survey also found that nearly one in three truck drivers are in fair to poor general health, nearly double that of the same figure for the national average^xv.

Conclusion

Over the last ten years, more truck drivers have died from work-related injury fatalities than any other occupation in Australia . These fatalities were mainly attributed to ‘Vehicle incidents’, which make up nearly three quarters (74%) of all traumatic injury fatalities involving truck drivers.

For the same ten years, truck drivers have a fatality frequency rate of 22.6; this rate is 15-times higher than the fatality frequency rate for all occupations of 1.5.

‘Body stressing’ and ‘Falls, slips and trips of a person’ are significant risks that truck drivers encounter while performing their work duties. The frequency rate of serious claims for truck drivers that experienced ‘Falls from a height’ and ‘Muscular stress while handling objects other than lifting, carrying or putting down’ was around 3 and 4 times higher respectively for truck drivers than all occupations. 

Appendix 

Data Sources

Truck drivers - Workforce overview has been derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2021 Census data counting persons by place of usual residence. 

• The Census is conducted every five years, collecting important data about the Australian population, including demographics, social factors, and economic information. See the ABS census methodology page for further detail. 

Truck drivers – occupational risk profile is derived from Safe Work Australia’s National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics (NDS), Beta Occupational Hazards Dataset (BOHD) and Traumatic injury fatalities (TIF). 

• Safe Work Australia compiles national workers’ compensation statistics using data obtained from workers’ compensation authorities in each state, territory, and the Commonwealth government. These data are collated into the NDS, which is Safe Work Australia’s primary source of information on work-related injuries and diseases. See Explanatory Notes: National Data Set for Compensation-based Statistics for detailed information.
  • The data presented in this profile focuses on workers’ compensation claims to reflect the incidence of work-related injuries and illnesses amongst Truck drivers. Approximately 14% of Truck drivers operate as independent contractors, according to ABS Characteristics of Employment data, meaning that any work-related injuries or illnesses experienced by these Truck drivers would typically not be captured in the NDS data.  
• The BOHD contains information on the ‘work context’ of occupations. Part of this includes information on how often occupations are exposed to, or involve doing, things which may result in injury or illness. Safe Work Australia constructed this dataset by mapping selected fields from the United States’ O*NET database onto the Australian occupational classification (ANZSCO) and combining this with Safe Work Australia’s workers’ compensation claims data.
• Fatalities data are derived from the Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities database, which includes information on all work-related injury fatalities in Australia. This database collates information sourced from workers’ compensation data, fatality notifications from Australia’s various WHS authorities and information in the National Coronial Information System. See Work-related fatalities data catalogue page for detailed information. 

Relevant Resources

• Model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of falls at workplaces | Safe Work Australia
• Model Code of Practice: Managing the work environment and facilities | Safe Work Australia
• Model Code of Practice: Hazardous manual tasks | Safe Work Australia
• Fatigue - Managing risks | Safe Work Australia
• Job demands | Safe Work Australia
• Sitting and standing | Safe Work Australia

Footnotes

i Australian Bureau of statistics. (2024). OSCA - Occupation Standard Classification for Australia [online] Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/classifications/osca-occupation-standard-classification-australia/2024-version-1-0/browse-classification/7/71/713

ii Jobs and Skills Australia. (2024). Occupation Shortage List. [online] Available at: https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-shortages-analysis/occupation-shortage-list?level=4.

iii Australian aggregate freight forecasts – 2022 update (Summary). (2022). [online] available at bitre_rr154_summary_report.pdf

iv Vehicle incident: A vehicle is a means of transport by rail, road, water or air. Examples are trains, cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, bikes, forklifts, tractors, cranes etc This code is to be used for any incident.

v The ‘Fatalities rate’ is defined as the number of Fatalities per 100,000 employees, using estimates of the entire working population including Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel.      

vi ‘All other occupations’ is defined as all occupations that are collected within the BOHD. For more information about the BOHD, see https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/analysis/insights-bohd

vii Frequency rates are defined as the number of serious claims per million hours worked, using estimates of the working population covered under a workers’ compensation scheme.

viii The 2022-23 NDS data are preliminary (denoted by ‘p’). The data are likely to rise as revisions occur in future years.

ix Queensland (2020), Peebles v Work Cover Queensland). – QLD Caselaw. [online] Available at: https://archive.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2020/QSC20-106.pdf 

x Latest non-preliminary data are 2021-22 results. Median time lost and compensation payments calculations exclude preliminary data (2022-23p) because claims from the preliminary year are likely to be open and claimants are likely to accrue more time off work/compensation payments over future years.

xi Median compensation calculations exclude no cost compensation claims.

xii Worksafe Victoria. (2024) [online] Available at: https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/news/2024-09/transport-company-fined-350000-after-drivers-fatal-fall

xiii National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020(2011).[online] Available at: https://www.roadsafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/nrss_2011_2020.pdf

xiv Van Vreden, C., Xia, T., Collie, A. et al. The physical and mental health of Australian truck drivers: a national cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 22, 464 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12850-5

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