Oilfield workers apparently face more dangers on the road that out on a rig, according to a new study published by Accident Analysis & Prevention.
The research, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that oil and gas workers are 8.5 more times likely to die in a motor vehicle crashes while on the job than those in other businesses, according to FuelFix.com.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/01/18/oilfield-workers-at-higher-risk-of-fatal-motor-vehicle-accidents/
And Texas has the sad distinction of having a huge chunk of these deaths. Over one-third of oil field workers who lost their lives in traffic accidents while they were working were toiling in the Lone Star State, which has a bustling oil industry.
The study found that from 2003 and 2009, 202 gas and oil workers where killed in motor vehicle accidents while they were working, FuelFix.com said.
The data showed that motor vehicle crashes make up 28 percent of all-work related deaths in the oil industry, and it is the leading cause of deaths on the job in that business, according to FuelFix.com
The website reported that the study’s findings are no surprise to anyone who has ever worked on an oilfield. That’s because more than 50 percent of the fatal accidents involve pickup trucks, and workers don’t have to have a commercial driver’s license to get behind the wheel of those vehicles, FuelFix.com said.
Roughly 56 percent of the accidents had only one vehicle involved.
The research blamed the high accident rate in the oil industry on workers not using seat belts, long work days, long drives on country roads and driver fatigue, according to FuelFix.com.