NIOSH Program Portfolio

Global Collaborations in Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities

Inputs: Occupational Safety and Health Risks

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in the U.S. workplace, and contribute substantially to the road fatality burden in other industrialized nations.

Of approximately 5,700 workplace fatalities in the U.S. reported annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 35% are associated with motor vehicles. Between 2001-2005, on average:

• 1,394 workers died each year from crashes on public highways.
• 335 workers died each year in crashes that occurred off the highway or on industrial premises.
• 369 pedestrian workers died each year as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle.

Since the early 1990s, annual totals have remained static, with increases in the number of fatalities on public roadways offsetting decreases in the number of fatalities off public roadways. In the U.S., the number of workers who die in motor vehicle crashes is small compared with the total number of roadway fatalities, contributing slightly over 3% of the total [Bureau of Labor Statistics 2007; NHTSA 2006a].

In the nations of the European Union (EU), however, road traffic and transport accidents at work account for far higher proportions of total roadway fatalities, 41% in 1999 [European Commission 2002]. Crash experience for Australia is similar, with nearly half of all workplace fatalities between 1989 and 1992 associated with either driving for work or commuting to work. (Data for Australia differ from those reported for the EU or the U.S. in that work-related crashes include those that occur during commuting to work in addition to driving during the work day.) In Australia, work-related crashes were estimated to be 13% of all roadway fatalities [Murray et al. 2003].

In the United Kingdom (UK), one-fourth of all vehicle miles traveled were estimated to be for work purposes (excluding commuting). One source estimated that one-third of all “company cars” in the UK are involved in a crash each year, and that crash rates for persons driving for work are 30-40% higher than for private motorists [UK Department for Transport 2008].

There is a need to collect data on occupational crashes worldwide.

In many industrialized nations, roadway crash data systems classify crashes according to work relationship. However, this information is unavailable in some industrialized nations and most of the less developed nations. Efforts to address the issue of workplace motor vehicle crashes will be delayed if data are not available to identify and characterize the problem.

Many nations collect no data on occupational roadway deaths:

1. Roadway deaths do not always fall under the jurisdiction of occupational safety and health agencies.
2. Many systems that collect data on all traffic deaths do not identify crashes as work-related.
3. Estimates may be pieced together from coroner’s reports, workers’ compensation data, or surveys.
4. Low- and middle-income nations may lack resources for collection of basic crash data, and rarely identify work relationship in the data that is collected.
5. Generally, available data are not standardized across nations (the European Union is an exception).

Resources

Bureau of Labor Statistics [2007]. Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries summary, 2006, Table 1. External link: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf
124 KB (17 pages)

Commission of the European Communities [2003]. European road safety action programme. Halving the number of road accident victims in the European Union by 2010: a shared responsibility. Brussels, Belgium: Commission of the European Communities.

Department for Transport [2008]. Driving for work: statistics.
External link: http://www.dft.gov.uk/drivingforwork/content/main.asp?pid=14

European Commission [2002]. European social statistics: accidents at work and work-related health problems, 1994-2000.

Murray W, Newnam S, Watson B, Davey J, Schonfeld S [2003]. Evaluating and improving fleet safety in Australia. Canberra, Australia: Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
External link: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/archive/00007952/01/7952.pdf
684 KB (137 pages)

NHTSA [2006a]. Traffic safety facts 2005: a compilation of motor vehicle crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Publication DOT HS 810 631.
External link: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/TSF2005.PDF
1,104 KB (222 pages)

NIOSH [2003]. Work-related roadway crashes: challenges and opportunities for prevention (NIOSH Hazard Review). Cincinnati, OH: Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. DHHS (NIOSH) 2003-119.

Global Collaborations in Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities

Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities Program

Global Collaborations Program
Global Collaborations in Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities
Focus Area: Global Road Safety
Inputs
• Economic Factors
• Occupational Risks
• NIOSH Strategic Goals
• Partners
• Partner Resources
• NIOSH Contacts
Activities
• Collaborations With Global Partners
Outputs
• Publications
• Topic Pages
• Research to Practice
• Conferences