Global road safety for workers

Worker road safety refers to the economic, societal, and legal ramifications of protecting workers from automobile-related injury, disability, and death. Road traffic crashes are a leading cause of occupational fatalities throughout the world, especially in developing countries. In addition to the suffering of the workers and their families, businesses and society also bear direct and indirect costs. These include increased insurance premiums, the threat of litigation, loss of an employee, and destruction of property.

Road crashes worldwide kill over a million people every year and cost as much as 3% of global gross domestic product (GDP). Around the world, it is estimated that work-related incidents make up 25% the road toll (50% if commuting is included). Crash injuries disproportionately impact young people and those in developing countries. In addition to human suffering, traffic crashes can cost between 1 and 1.5 percent of a country’s GDP. For some economies, those losses exceed the amount received in development aid, according to Together for Safer Roads. Because rapid motorization generally accompanies economic development, a large percentage of occupational automobile crashes occur in low and middle-income countries. Workers in the developing world are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the risk of road traffic crashes. Workers at risk include drivers of commercial trucks and buses; workers who are not professional drivers, but who drive smaller trucks or passenger vehicles provided by their employer; workers who drive personal vehicles for work purposes; pedestrians, particularly roadside workers; and commuters.

Efforts to protect workers on the road have been undertaken by international organizations such as the United Nations, World Health Organization, World Bank, and International Labour Organization. The WHO coordinates the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, an effort drawing together government, business, and non-government organizations.

It is estimated that 25 percent of global crashes are work-related, rising to 50 percent if commuting is included. Companies have developed an environment that influences and supports the emergence of safer road users. In alignment with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety’s Five Pillars, Together for Safer Roads developed a 14-step best practices report called Advancing Road Safety Best Practices for Companies and Their Fleets, to guide companies in developing and managing transportation programs.

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Wikipedia