Car crashes found to be biggest threat to workers

By STUART DYE

People killed at work are most likely to be victims of car crashes, a study shows.

Professor John Langley, director of injury prevention research at Otago University, said his study revealed 29 per cent of workplace deaths were through traffic crashes.

His conclusions are from a study of crashes between 1985 and 1998 and show that they are the largest single category of work-related deaths.

"This is of concern, given the severity of the problem and the rate at which it is occurring," Professor Langley said.

"It also means we may be missing an opportunity to reduce the road toll via good occupational safety practice."

In the period studied, 241 workers died, and a further 192 died while commuting. In addition, although not engaged in work themselves, 1447 people died in the process of another person's activity on a public road. Many companies now put employees through defensive driver courses, either in the classroom or on the roads.

But Professor Langley said there was no compelling evidence that the courses had any impact.

"The consensus is that they have little or no impact. You cannot force people to take it on board. They have to be motivated in the first place."

Land Transport Safety Authority education manager Michael Cummins said it was a fair argument that defensive driving courses did not always provide a good cost/benefit ratio.

"But there is also good evidence from a Swedish Telecom study that they make a positive difference." Professor Langley wants to see an annual census of fatal accidents involving commercial vehicles on the highways, similar to that done in the US.

Herald Feature: Road safety