Transport

For more information on Transport click here for the relevant chapter of the TUC guide to health and safety "Hazards at Work

Driving as part of work is one on the main causes of workplace death both inside the workplace and on the public roads.

• About a quarter of all vehicle miles travelled annually on Britain's roads are for work purposes (excluding commuting)
• There are an estimated three million company cars on the roads and roughly one in three will be involved in an accident each year.
• Company drivers who drive more than 80 per cent of their annual mileage on work related journeys have more than 50 per cent more injury accidents than similar drivers who do no work related mileage.
• The annual risk of dying in a road accident while driving for business reasons is significantly greater than the risk of dying as a result of all other workplace accidents.
• Every week around 200 road deaths and serious injuries involves someone at work.
• About 300 people are killed each year as a result of drivers falling asleep at the wheel. About four in ten tiredness-related crashes involve someone driving a commercial vehicle.
• Work-related road accidents are the biggest cause of work-related accidental death. Between 700 and 800 people are killed annually in work-related road traffic accidents compared to approximately 250 fatalities due to accidents notified annually under the Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).
• Business drivers have collision rates that are 30-40 per cent higher than those of private drivers.

Many vehicles are driven for work purposes, for example, lorries, car transporters, vans, tankers, taxis, coaches, buses, emergency service and utilities vehicles, company cars, construction and agricultural machinery, motorcycles, mopeds and bicycles. And many people work on or beside the road, for example, maintenance workers, refuse collectors, postal workers, vehicle breakdown employees, the police and so on. All these workers are exposed to traffic hazards.

Links

HSE driving webpages http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/drivingforwork.htm

Occupational Road Safety Alliance http://www.orsa.org.uk/index.htm

---