OSHA Releases Fall Statistics for 2008; GOOD NEWS!!!

It is with amazement and great pleasure we present the statistics from OSHA
including the year 2008, in the two tables below, from OSHA, along with our
comments.
Fatal falls nationwide FELL 20% from 847 in 2007 (the worst year on record)
to 680 in 2008, a number not seen since 1995, fifteen (15) years ago! The
fatality rate per 100,000 hours worked dropped by 10% overall since 2007. We
don't have
 that rate specifically for fatal falls.
We should consider that in the 2008 timeframe there were massive layoffs in
the construction industry as the financial crisis peaked and the economy
slowed down. At present we do not know if the decrease in the number of
fatal falls is due to suddenly better safety practices, suddenly more
stimulus moneys going toward OSHA and inspections, investigations,
enforcement and a marked increase in the number of and dollar values of
citations, or the decrease in the number of workers due to layoffs because
of the recession.
Perhaps there is a shift in the demographic "makeup" of the worker
population, in other words, maybe a decrease in the number of workers from
certain demographics that were "less safe" than other workers contributes to
the overall improvement in safety statistics. OSHA keeps statistics on
fatalities by gender, age and race, as well as geographically. You can
research this online.
Note that Highway Incidents is at an all time LOW, again reflecting the idea
that because of the recession there were fewer miles driven by fewer
employees. We doubt that people suddenly became significantly better drivers
in just one year, so we believe there are other factors contributing to the
sudden remarkable improvement in safety. Maybe everyone stopped using their
cell phones and texting while driving?
Regardless of the reason, these statistics are encouraging and great news!