Truck trailers are built to safely get cargo from the shipper to the destination. However, they are not built with safety measures to protect against falls. With the infinite configurations between trailers and their cargo, it is nearly impossible to foresee the hazards a driver will encounter with loading and unloading. With truck drivers hauling two-thirds of the cargo weight in the US, the number of times a driver climbs into or onto a trailer or flatbed puts them at a higher risk of injury due to falls.
Climbing onto a flatbed trailer poses many hazards, such as a lack of handholds and slippery surfaces. Box trailers also pose hazards when entering the trailer. Often, personnel will use the ICC, or Interstate Commerce Commission, bar to climb into the trailer. The ICC bar was no designed as a step, it was designed to prevent vehicles from lodging underneath the trailer in a rear-end accident. These bars typically do not have any tread and are not angled or spaced at a correct step pitch.
Drivers are required by the DOT to ensure that their cargo is properly secured and distributed. This means the driver needs to tarp, strap, or rearrange their load. The hazards associated with this process doesn't stop once the truck leaves the shipping dock. The driver must examine any securing devices and the cargo before traveling 50 miles on the highway. Drivers must also repeat these checks before they reach 150 miles. Each of these checks may place the driver in a position where he or she could fall from any number of distances.
NTOF, National Traumatic Occupational Fatality, data indicates that between 1980 and 1994, there were 369 fall-related fatalities in the transportation industry, 26 per year. A 2004 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 1,500 cases of employees falling from trailers resulted in days away from wok.
So how can you make sure your drivers and employees who work on these trailers are safe? A sturdy step or ladder can be added to any flatbed or trailer to give a point of access. The step or ladder can be bolted on, welded on, or use a bracket, stake pocket, or rub rail to attach to the trailer depending on the specific needs of the drivers or employees. You should make sure any step or safety ladder you purchase has adequate tread to ensure a safe grip in any conditions. Another point of safety is to equip a handle or handhold post. Some trailers have handles equipped and work well with many steps or ladders.