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Supply-Truck Safety: Blind Spots, Loading Zones and Pedestrian Risks Stats and Facts

FACTS

  • Rear Blind Zone Hazard: Supply trucks have rear blind zones that mirrors alone cannot fully cover. A driver backing into a loading dock may have no awareness of a worker standing directly behind the vehicle.
  • Right-Side Blind Spot: The right side of a large supply truck is one of the most dangerous blind spots on the vehicle.
  • Forward Blind Zone: The elevated front-end height of supply trucks creates a ground-level blind zone in front of the cab. A worker standing within several feet of the front bumper may be completely invisible to the driver.
  • Loading Zone Congestion: Loading zones mix delivery trucks, forklifts, and on-foot workers in confined space. Without clear pedestrian separation, the risk of a struck-by incident increases significantly.
  • Backing Without a Spotter: Without a trained ground spotter, a driver backing into a dock has no reliable way to detect workers stepping into the vehicle's path.
  • Truck Movement and Worker Proximity: Workers who grow accustomed to routine deliveries may stop treating vehicle movement as an active hazard. Complacency near scheduled truck arrivals is a known contributor to struck-by incidents.
  • Trailer Swing During Turns: When a supply truck turns in a yard or loading area, the trailer swings wide in the opposite direction of the cab.

STATS

  • Your Loading docks account for 25% of all warehouse accidents, making them a concentrated hotspot for serious workplace incidents.
  • According to OSHA data, 36% of forklift fatalities in the workplace involve pedestrians, underscoring the danger of mixed-traffic loading environments.
  • Forklifts and powered industrial trucks were the source of 84 work-related deaths in 2024 and were linked to 25,110 DART (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred) cases in the 2023-2024 reporting period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Between 2021 and 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 143 fatal accidents and 25,330 nonfatal incidents involving forklifts and powered industrial trucks in U.S. workplaces.
  • The warehousing and transportation sector recorded an injury rate of 4.8 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2022.
  • In 2023, over 898 fatalities were recorded in U.S. work zones, and between 2013 and 2023, work zone fatalities increased by 50 percent — with vehicle-worker conflicts identified as the primary driver of that increase.