Overview

Trucking Injury Reduction Emphasis (TIRES)

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TIRES prevents injuries in the trucking industry

The SHARP program at L&I is conducting in-depth occupational safety and health research in the Washington State trucking industry to identify occupational hazards that put trucking workers at increased risk of injury. The Trucking Injury Reduction Emphasis (TIRES) project, supported in part by federal funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), identifies risk factors for worker injury and collaborates with industry stakeholders to create and share prevention strategies. The TIRES Steering Committee of industry leaders in business and labor provides project review and guidance.

The first decade of research focused on preventing the most common and costly injury types in the trucking industry:

  • Slips, trips, falls.
  • Strains & sprains (musculoskeletal disorders).
  • Getting struck by or against an object.

The project also developed prevention material for the work activities that were associated with the majority of injuries:

  • Loading/unloading and material handling.
  • Exiting the cab or trailer.
  • Walking around the yard, terminal or customer site.
  • Tarping/strapping a load.

Current research is focused on developing a customizable safety program specific to the trucking industry.

Specific outreach goals

1. Build and maintain partnerships with representatives from both management and labor within the trucking industry.
2. Develop and maintain the website Keep Trucking Safe (www.KeepTruckingSafe.org)
3. Publish technical reports describing injuries, trends and costs within the trucking industry by sector through analysis of state workers' compensation data.
4. Conduct case follow-up interviews with injured workers to identify risk factors and solutions.
5. Conduct industry-wide surveys of both employers and employees to identify hazards and risk factors for the targeted injury types, needs and possible solutions based on company type and size.
6. Develop and promote the use of educational materials and other interventions to reduce hazards and injuries.
7. Disseminate findings and information to the Washington trucking industry.
8. Produce a customizable, trucking industry specific, online safety program for small to medium-sized companies.

Safety Program

TIRES Trucking Safety Program

The online TIRES Safety Program Development Tool enables trucking companies to create safety programs tailored to their specific mix of vehicles, equipment, and work environments. The tool is the result of a multi-year collaboration between TIRES staff, trucking industry safety experts, and software developers. Trucking has some of the highest injury rates among all industries. Having a company safety program is the best way to prevent injuries. Lack of one tops state workplace safety rule violations for Washington State trucking companies. Injury prevention and safety requirements compliance are harder for small to mid-sized companies to achieve with limited safety management resources. The TIRES Safety Program Development Tool is a free tool that uses data input from the company to create a customized safety program that exceeds basic state requirements. Nearly any short-haul and regional trucking company in Washington State can use the tool. For more information, read the following overview on keeptruckingsafe.org.

Publications

Publications

The TIRES project at the Department of Labor & Industries, SHARP program, has compiled a large library of documents regarding occupational health and safety. Below is a list of the most recent publications from the TIRES project. For all TIRES publications, please visit: Keeptruckingsafe.org or the SHARP Publications search tool. To hear about new content being added to this list, please sign up for our newsletter TIRES Newsletter sign up.

Tip Sheets

May 2021 - Safe Cab, Safe Driver

April 2021 - Be an Ace with Jacks

March 2021 - Take Charge of Batteries

February 2021 - Never Fool With an Air Tool

January 2021 - Stay Safe at the Pump

December 2020 - Drowsy Driving is Dangerous Driving

November 2020 - Now Hear This!

July 2020 - Handling the Pressure

June 2020 - Spotting Hazards

May 2020 - Guard Your Yard

February 2020 - Got a Backup Plan?

Injury Narratives

Three-Pointers Get Wins

No Distance, Know Pain

Don't Get it Twisted

COVID-19 Publications