6 most surprising dangerous jobs
by admin • March 10, 2012 • Uncategorized • 0 Comments
When thinking of a dangerous job, some occupations automatically come to mind. Occupations like fire fighters, police officers, high rise window washers and combat soldiers are immediately considered as being dangerous jobs, and are characteristic of what many perceive as dangerous and hazardous jobs.
However, there are several jobs out there that are much more dangerous, have higher fatality rates and serious injuries – but most people think of them as safe, mundane jobs.
Some of these jobs are so “regular”, that they wouldn’t even be considered to be dangerous jobs by many. Some are very simple jobs, the kind that you come across everyday and never give a second thought about. Others are located in remote areas, and usually don’t even cross urban dwelling people’s minds.
Below is a list of the 6 most surprising dangerous jobs – the forgotten dangerous jobs, the ones that don’t get the credit:
1. Fishermen:
Fatality rate: Commercial fishing is officially the most fatal job in America. It “boasts” the highest fatality rate – 116 deaths per 100,000 workers.
Dangers: Fishermen work on boats, usually many hundreds of miles from shore. They are subject to drowning, injuries from nets, machinery, equipment, and even their own catch. Also, fishermen work on very unstable, slippery and wet platforms, in all types of weather and far away from any help if something goes wrong.
Fatality rate: Farmers and ranchers don’t have safe and cozy jobs either – they have the 4th highest fatality rate of any occupation in America. At 41.4 deaths per 100,000 workers, farmers and ranchers have to constantly be on the lookout.
Dangers: Farmers and ranchers work in remote areas, sometimes alone. They face danger and potential fatal injuries from transportation accidents, equipment and machines they use, and from the livestock they breed.
3. Refuse and recyclable material collectors:
Fatality rate: Not an obvious dangerous job, this occupation claims the lives of 29.7 workers for every 100,000 out there – making it the 7th most dangerous job in America.
Dangers: The 2 major threats to refuse and recyclable material collectors are traffic accidents and machine related injuries – usually by the hydraulic lift used to empty garbage cans and dumpsters into the garbage truck.
4. Taxi driver:
Fatality rate: Although this job looks easy, simple and safe, it isn’t. Taxi drivers must cope with a fatality rate of 21.8 deaths per 100,000 taxi drivers.
Dangers: Taxi drivers face 2 major dangers: traffic accidents and violent robberies. Since the road is a taxi drivers environment, he has higher chances of being involved in an accident. Also, some criminals believe that taxi drivers make an easy target, and violent robberies can be common in certain cities.
Fatality rate: Truck drivers are the kings of the highway, but that doesn’t give them immunity from fatal accidents. Truck driver work related fatality rates are similar to taxi drivers – 21.8 per 100,000 drivers.
Dangers: The main danger truck drivers encounter are traffic accidents. Driving alone, for many hours and during all hours of the day, truck drivers are very susceptible to traffic accidents.
Dangers: Air traffic controllers don’t have high fatality rates, but they have one of the most stressful jobs out there. Air traffic controllers can be directly responsible for thousands of lives in a given moment, and must make sure at all times that each plane under their control is at a safe distance from other planes, and the ground. Air traffic controllers can suffer from high blood pressure, heart problems and other stress related phenomena’s.
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