10 Most Dangerous Jobs-Railroaders Don't Make the List.

[jeaton]

Mark in Utah

I am not surprised that improvements have been made in your industry. I am sure that OSHA has had much to do with any drop in accident rates, but employers in many industries have put more emphasis on safety. Wherever it comes from, it certainly is a good thing.

Jay

[Anonymous]

I've worked in the electric utility business for 21 years now. It used to be a LOT worse. Life expectancies were short. You DON'T want to see the old safety manuals for the companies, it'd scare you what they were asked to do. We have safety meetings monthly, and tailboard safety meetings for each job daily to make sure everyone is familiar with the job and the hazards. We still lose people.

Anyone want to grab a hold of a 12,000 volt wire with your gloved hands?? How about 750,000 volts with your BARE hands?? How about working 100' up in the air while doing it, with the wind blowing and raining? Remember, rain and electricity and what your mom used to always say? Still applies, but people still want their power back on when it's stormy outside. Don't forget working outside in Phoenix during the summer. The guys earn their pay. Sure we lose too many, but we're getting better.

My bro-in-law works in the gulf of Alaska as a ship's engineer. He could tell you stories that would make your eyes bug out and you have the dry heaves. I don't see how he does it. 6 months on, 6 off. Long hours when the fish are hot, boring when they're not.

Don't get me started about logging. There's a reason why it's so high. Ever hear of a "cat skinner"? He's the one that usually dies.

I can see where the numbers come from.

Mark in Utah

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by coborn35

How about most stressfull job?

High School Special Education Teacher...believe me...


m

[Anonymous]

I agree on the fishing - anyone who wants a good picture of what those guys face for 30 days at a time (with just a few days in port between trips) could do worse than read "The Perfect Storm" by Sebastian Junger - this is the book that the film was based on, many of the incidents in the film are based on stories told by fishermen (and women) interviewed by Junger while he was researching for the book. Rogue waves, loose gear, any number of things can do serious and deadly harm, especially given that they are well beyond rescue helicopter range and would take days to reach port. One breaking wave that is higher than your boat can handle and it's all over - SAR crews will be lucky to find floating wreckage.

You may have guessed that the sea and ships are some of my other interests...

[edbenton]

High iron I agree with you on all of those moutains. As for the log book I used to have 2-3 of them at one time. I ran team for a year with my father and we still ran out of hours at the company I was with. Then I went to work for Millis Tranfer never did figure out that place. They gave me 5 days to go Milwaukee to Lancaster PA but required overnight between Chicago to Atlanta. Best company I drove for had to be Henderson I got to run where ever I wanted and got to see alot of the west coast.

I had many I time I used to say lord if I make it to the next rest area I will stop and at least take a nap. I miss the money I made but I dont miss the pressure of driving.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

QUOTE: Originally posted by HighIron2003ar

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

QUOTE: Originally posted by edbenton
I MYYSELF HAVE RUN SOLO FROM SALINAS CA TO SALEM IL BY MYSELF IN 44 HOURS AND THAT MEANS NO SLEEP SINCE WAL MART DOES NOT RESCHEDULE DELIVERY APPTS.

Yet another reason not to shop at Wal-mart. The list just keeps getting longer.

Seriously, though, aren't you required to log your hours, and mandatorily get sleep every 10 or so? What happens if DOT checks your log, and finds that you've been driving for 44 hours straight?

HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW.... derisive laughter. Sorry Had to express my feelings towards the comic book.

I have had Beef Loads out of Garden City Ks to Salinas CA as well in the same time frame without stopping. The logs? Well per law there is one log book I could give to any officer who asked anywhere along that route and it will be fine.

In reality shippers and recievers refuse late loads and you can expect to lose at least a day if you were more than 15 minutes late. Walmart is one of the worst.

Deep cultural changes in the industry will have to happen before it gets any better.

Also if you were ahem.. out of hours on the logs? They put a giant OOS sticker on your windshield and tell you dont move for 10 hours (Used to be 8 but laws changed since I left road) and then start adding fines against both you and your company that likely will also include a very stressfull and thorough inspection designed to turn up any other revenue boosting income for the lucky juristicion who caught you. And will wipe out your profits for that load and possibly set you back a month.

You will not catch up. I gaurantee it.

Trucking to me is #1 dangerous. I have had moments out there where my last words were "Oh lordy... dont let it hurt too much or kill anyone else heah." I guess Im still here and he aint done with me yet.

Try Black Mountain, Spotted Wolf, Emigrant, Lookout Pass or Donnor on Ice and snow in a roaring blizzard with man killing cold. Or Cross the Humdolt in the blazing heat with 100 miles to go before encountering anything remotely useful from a water and shelter standpoint.

Edited: I forgot Mt Eagle, Big Savage and Syskiyious (Spelling?)

Railroaders have a dangerous job and I am not kidding. One slip of a foot on a rainy day probably will put the switchman under the wheels.

The other jobs on the list are up there. But they forgot conveince store clerks. Sometimes they show up to work and clock out dead.

Yikes, that's just a little scary. I think I'm glad I'm letting Amtrak do the driving to Chicago in October instead of driving on I-80, where all these sleep deprived truck drivers are nearing the century mark through Western Nebraska.

Chris
Denver, CO

They are actually governed now. Companies save money on insurance by becoming self insured with governor settings enforceable thru satellite in real time.

What is scarier is that shippers and recievers demand thier product even faster. They are never satisfied with very fast transit times. Then they make you wait at thier conveince.. how thougtful.

I remember Ameri-cold out of Salinas Ca who begged the dispatcher for a reefer.. any reefer for thier load. We got to arrive there at 4 in the afternoon only to learn they are picking the load at the fields. It was to be another 32 hours before we were able to be loaded. Thank god for the spouse and home cooked meals and DVD movies in the sleeper.

I dont want to high jack this thread. But I want to contribute the fishing industry because there are alot of sharp knives and very many blunt force instruments swinging around you on the boat. That has to be pretty bad. Especially up in the Artic near Alaska and in the deep fog of Newfoundland.

[eastside]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

In Los Angeles the top 3 would be

1. Convenience store clerk / Gas station attendant
2. Street cart vendor
3. Police Officer

They seam to get shot at the most.

Are you sure those are the top 3? How about drug dealers and rap artists.

[CopCarSS]

QUOTE: Originally posted by HighIron2003ar

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

QUOTE: Originally posted by edbenton
I MYYSELF HAVE RUN SOLO FROM SALINAS CA TO SALEM IL BY MYSELF IN 44 HOURS AND THAT MEANS NO SLEEP SINCE WAL MART DOES NOT RESCHEDULE DELIVERY APPTS.

Yet another reason not to shop at Wal-mart. The list just keeps getting longer.

Seriously, though, aren't you required to log your hours, and mandatorily get sleep every 10 or so? What happens if DOT checks your log, and finds that you've been driving for 44 hours straight?

HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW.... derisive laughter. Sorry Had to express my feelings towards the comic book.

I have had Beef Loads out of Garden City Ks to Salinas CA as well in the same time frame without stopping. The logs? Well per law there is one log book I could give to any officer who asked anywhere along that route and it will be fine.

In reality shippers and recievers refuse late loads and you can expect to lose at least a day if you were more than 15 minutes late. Walmart is one of the worst.

Deep cultural changes in the industry will have to happen before it gets any better.

Also if you were ahem.. out of hours on the logs? They put a giant OOS sticker on your windshield and tell you dont move for 10 hours (Used to be 8 but laws changed since I left road) and then start adding fines against both you and your company that likely will also include a very stressfull and thorough inspection designed to turn up any other revenue boosting income for the lucky juristicion who caught you. And will wipe out your profits for that load and possibly set you back a month.

You will not catch up. I gaurantee it.

Trucking to me is #1 dangerous. I have had moments out there where my last words were "Oh lordy... dont let it hurt too much or kill anyone else heah." I guess Im still here and he aint done with me yet.

Try Black Mountain, Spotted Wolf, Emigrant, Lookout Pass or Donnor on Ice and snow in a roaring blizzard with man killing cold. Or Cross the Humdolt in the blazing heat with 100 miles to go before encountering anything remotely useful from a water and shelter standpoint.

Railroaders have a dangerous job and I am not kidding. One slip of a foot on a rainy day probably will put the switchman under the wheels.

The other jobs on the list are up there. But they forgot conveince store clerks. Sometimes they show up to work and clock out dead.

Yikes, that's just a little scary. I think I'm glad I'm letting Amtrak do the driving to Chicago in October instead of driving on I-80, where all these sleep deprived truck drivers are nearing the century mark through Western Nebraska.

Chris
Denver, CO

[CopCarSS]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

Dan
The full article noted the inclusions you mentioned, and I am not even sure that it excludes "not for hire" pilots. It probably also includes helicopter born medical evacuations. Those guys sometimes go into BAAAD conditions.

Jay

They do go into bad situations. Another very high risk part of aviation that was mentioned was the fire planes that fight wildfires. Some of these planes are ancient (in aviation terms), and metal fatigue is really setting in. There have been several fire plane accidents in the past few years, including the highly publicized video of one coming apart (I think in California).

Chris
Denver, CO

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

QUOTE: Originally posted by edbenton
I MYYSELF HAVE RUN SOLO FROM SALINAS CA TO SALEM IL BY MYSELF IN 44 HOURS AND THAT MEANS NO SLEEP SINCE WAL MART DOES NOT RESCHEDULE DELIVERY APPTS.

Yet another reason not to shop at Wal-mart. The list just keeps getting longer.

Seriously, though, aren't you required to log your hours, and mandatorily get sleep every 10 or so? What happens if DOT checks your log, and finds that you've been driving for 44 hours straight?

HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW.... derisive laughter. Sorry Had to express my feelings towards the comic book.

I have had Beef Loads out of Garden City Ks to Salinas CA as well in the same time frame without stopping. The logs? Well per law there is one log book I could give to any officer who asked anywhere along that route and it will be fine.

In reality shippers and recievers refuse late loads and you can expect to lose at least a day if you were more than 15 minutes late. Walmart is one of the worst.

Deep cultural changes in the industry will have to happen before it gets any better.

Also if you were ahem.. out of hours on the logs? They put a giant OOS sticker on your windshield and tell you dont move for 10 hours (Used to be 8 but laws changed since I left road) and then start adding fines against both you and your company that likely will also include a very stressfull and thorough inspection designed to turn up any other revenue boosting income for the lucky juristicion who caught you. And will wipe out your profits for that load and possibly set you back a month.

You will not catch up. I gaurantee it.

Trucking to me is #1 dangerous. I have had moments out there where my last words were "Oh lordy... dont let it hurt too much or kill anyone else heah." I guess Im still here and he aint done with me yet.

Try Black Mountain, Spotted Wolf, Emigrant, Lookout Pass or Donnor on Ice and snow in a roaring blizzard with man killing cold. Or Cross the Humdolt in the blazing heat with 100 miles to go before encountering anything remotely useful from a water and shelter standpoint.

Railroaders have a dangerous job and I am not kidding. One slip of a foot on a rainy day probably will put the switchman under the wheels.

The other jobs on the list are up there. But they forgot conveince store clerks. Sometimes they show up to work and clock out dead.

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68



I am surprised to see airline pilots on the list - I'd be interested in seeing why.

The probably because they included General Aviiation which is a fairly broad category and may or may not have excluded purely recreational aviation from that category, since many people use private aircraft for business travel. Nonetheless, non-airline commercial aviation includes crop dusting, medivac, forestery (logging), oil industry, aerial fire fighting, law enforcement, etc....which all have a higher degree of risk due to operating environment, plus corporate and charter aviation. So looking at the industry as a whole, depending on the job, it does have a significant degree of risk.

Dan

Dan
The full article noted the inclusions you mentioned, and I am not even sure that it excludes "not for hire" pilots. It probably also includes helicopter born medical evacuations. Those guys sometimes go into BAAAD conditions.

Jay

I stumbled on the article yesterday, and was left unsure when they included "general aviation". They broke out specifics of what really would be termed commercial aviation (non-airline for hire), but the term "general aviation" is really broad and covers alot.

Dan

[jeaton]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68



I am surprised to see airline pilots on the list - I'd be interested in seeing why.

The probably because they included General Aviiation which is a fairly broad category and may or may not have excluded purely recreational aviation from that category, since many people use private aircraft for business travel. Nonetheless, non-airline commercial aviation includes crop dusting, medivac, forestery (logging), oil industry, aerial fire fighting, law enforcement, etc....which all have a higher degree of risk due to operating environment, plus corporate and charter aviation. So looking at the industry as a whole, depending on the job, it does have a significant degree of risk.

Dan

Dan
The full article noted the inclusions you mentioned, and I am not even sure that it excludes "not for hire" pilots. It probably also includes helicopter born medical evacuations. Those guys sometimes go into BAAAD conditions.

Jay

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

In Los Angeles the top 3 would be

1. Convenience store clerk / Gas station attendant
2. Street cart vendor
3. Police Officer

They seam to get shot at the most.

It should be.....that get shot the most that is......

1. Real estate developer

2. City planner

3. Utility directors and schedulers

and sign twirlers.....[xx(]

shouldnt that be "most we'de like to have a pot-shot taken at them"

if so include

local politicians
door to door religious hawkers
those guys who leave unwanted flyers all over my front porch

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

In Los Angeles the top 3 would be

1. Convenience store clerk / Gas station attendant
2. Street cart vendor
3. Police Officer

They seam to get shot at the most.

It should be.....that get shot the most that is......

1. Real estate developer

2. City planner

3. Utility directors and schedulers

and sign twirlers.....[xx(]

[vsmith]

In Los Angeles the top 3 would be

1. Convenience store clerk / Gas station attendant
2. Street cart vendor
3. Police Officer

They seam to get shot at the most.

other dangerous occupations on the list would include:

4. Highway workers - Cal-trans
5. High school students
6. Fire fighters
7. Taxi cab drivers
8. Jewelry store owners
9. Car salespeople (they jet Jacked)
10. Brush fire fighters

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68



I am surprised to see airline pilots on the list - I'd be interested in seeing why.

The probably because they included General Aviiation which is a fairly broad category and may or may not have excluded purely recreational aviation from that category, since many people use private aircraft for business travel. Nonetheless, non-airline commercial aviation includes crop dusting, medivac, forestery (logging), oil industry, aerial fire fighting, law enforcement, etc....which all have a higher degree of risk due to operating environment, plus corporate and charter aviation. So looking at the industry as a whole, depending on the job, it does have a significant degree of risk.

Dan

[jchnhtfd]

Curiously, Junction, military service has always been a relatively low-risk occupation, although one wouldn't think so. Being a part-time farmer, I can readily attest to the risk involved; it's pretty high. And, Larry pointed out, most of the time farmers and ranchers are working alone -- which can easily turn an injury into something much worse, because you can be a long time gone before anyone thinks to start trying to find you.

But railroaders as a group are a terrifically safety-conscious crowd, and are to be really congratulated for that -- but I've said that before!

[garr]

A few years ago, Real estate agents made the list.

What amazes me is that convience store clerk is not on there.

And with NASA's recent record, astronaut should also be included.

Jay

[tree68]

I guess it's encouraging that firefighters didn't make the list, either, although we've become more safety conscious as a group. Nonetheless, there were over 100 firefighter deaths last year.

The railroads as an industry are pretty safety conscious as I see it. The days of the disposable brakeman are (thankfully) long since gone. Still, when you're working with stuff that big, and that mobile, the risk is always there.

I'm not surprised to see farmers and ranchers on the list. I just finished the Cornell Farmedic course and got a first hand review of the hazards you can find on a farm (I'm not a farmer, but you don't live in farm country all your life and not pick up a few things). Many of them are near-solo efforts as well, so nobody's got your back.

I am surprised to see airline pilots on the list - I'd be interested in seeing why.

Most of the rest of the list makes a fair amount of sense, if you think about it.

[icmr]

That is really good news.



ICMR

Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]

[CopCarSS]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edbenton
I MYYSELF HAVE RUN SOLO FROM SALINAS CA TO SALEM IL BY MYSELF IN 44 HOURS AND THAT MEANS NO SLEEP SINCE WAL MART DOES NOT RESCHEDULE DELIVERY APPTS.

Yet another reason not to shop at Wal-mart. The list just keeps getting longer.

Seriously, though, aren't you required to log your hours, and mandatorily get sleep every 10 or so? What happens if DOT checks your log, and finds that you've been driving for 44 hours straight?

[edbenton]

Truck driving is a danguras job. WE have people cut us off because they are about to miss their exit and expect us to stop 40 tons like they can stop a car. IT CAN NOT BE DONE also try driving across Donner pass in a blizzard with chains on and around 3-4 inches of ice under the snow. Montana in winter is no fun the policy there is Mother Nature put it there and she can remove it. I have hauled loads with w WARNING LIGHT ON THE OUTSIDE AND WAS TOLD BY THE SHIPPER IF THAT LIGHT COMES ON FIND TEH CLOSEST AND DEEPEST WATER YOU CAN FIND. 90% of teclass 1 explosives are hauled by truck try that on for size.

I have seen steel coils come loose and when they hit the cab it is all over. Haz-mat is one of the most dangerous things to pull. Railroaders do have a dangerous job, BUT AT LEAST YOU GUYS KNOW THAT AFTER 12 HOURS YOU ARE DONE I MYYSELF HAVE RUN SOLO FROM SALINAS CA TO SALEM IL BY MYSELF IN 44 HOURS AND THAT MEANS NO SLEEP SINCE WAL MART DOES NOT RESCHEDULE DELIVERY APPTS. ONCE THAT APPTMENT IS MADE EVEN IF YOU LOSE 2 DAYS LOADING THOUGHT CRAP YOU STILL HAVE TO MAKE IT.

[coborn35]

How about most stressfull job?

[heavyd]

I have seen a lists like this too on shows like Discovery. This list is fairly consistant. They didn't base the numbers on sole fatalities but overall injuries which is somewhat missleading. The truck driver, for instance, scored more dangerous due to injury reports. Most of those injuries are pulled muscles and strained backs from over exerting when climbing in and out of the cab. Not really that dangerous. But as for police/soldiers I think the guys that service ATMs are on some other top 10 lists for dangerous jobs!

[Junctionfan]

U.S soldier in the Middle East isn't one of them??

[Anonymous]

Must not count the days when a brakemen with experience only had 6 fingers.

[jeaton]

Guess you guys are doing something right.[:D][:D][:D]

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the following as the ten most dangerous jobs in the U.S. Fatalities per 100,000 workers in parentheses.
By Laura Morsch, CareerBuilder.com

They help us build our houses and feed our families. They deliver our packages and take away our trash, and when we need a ride, they're there to whisk us away.

And they're risking their lives to do it.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the workers most likely to be killed at work aren't the ones donning bullet-proof vests to capture criminals or saving victims from fire-engulfed buildings. Instead, the workers most likely to die on the job are the ones who help provide us with our daily needs like a safe home, food and electricity.

The typical worker has a low risk of fatal injuries at work – the fatality rate for all occupations is 4.1 per 100,000 employed. But these hazardous jobs, all of which had a minimum of 30 fatalities in 2004 and 40,000 people employed, are far riskier. The BLS lists these occupations as 10 of the most dangerous in the nation:

1 Logging workers (92.4)
2 Airlines pilots and flight engineers-including general aviation (92.4)
3 Fishers and related workers (86.4)
4 Structural Iron and steel workers (47)
5 Garbage men (43.2)
6 Farmers and Ranchers (37.5)
7 Roofers (34.9)
8 Electric Power Lineman (30)
9 Truck drivers (27.6)
10 Taxi drivers and chauffeurs (24.2)


Jay