S.C. Sees Decrease in Job Site Deaths

Studies show that fewer South Carolina workers are dying on the job and safety training is being attributed to the decline.

According to the South Carolina newspaper The State, the increased emphasis by businesses and government on safety training has reduced the number of workplace deaths in the state by 36 percent since 1999.

State and federal labor departments statistics show that South Carolina had eighty-nine worksite deaths in 2001, compared with 115 in 2000 and 139 in 1999.

Although highway crashes and other transportation incidents accounted for the largest share of deaths in 2001, the number of transportation-related deaths dropped to 37 from 55 in 2000. A renewed emphasis on driver training helped reduce the number of work-related driving fatalities.

The state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and state transportation and public safety agencies have been working with employers to improve employee driving habits by offering driver safety programs.

Federal safety training efforts and a voluntary inspection program at plants and warehouses in which the state helps companies make upgrades, have also helped reduce the number of workplace deaths across the state.

U.S. Department of Labor statistics show a decline in workplace death tolls nationwide in recent years as well.

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