Committee questions "anomalous" approach to road deaths

Jocelyn Dorrell | News | HSP
30.10.2008

The government should review the HSE's role in improving road safety to help reduce the number of driving deaths, according to a new report by the House of Commons Transport Select Committee.

The report, Ending the Scandal of Complacency: Road Safety Beyond 2010, compares the 228 work-related fatalities in "traditional" workplaces in 2007 to the estimated 750-1000 work-related deaths on the road (a figure which excludes commuter deaths).

It says it is "anomalous that the vast majority of work-related deaths are not examined by the Health and Safety Executive, purely because they occur on the roads".

The committee calls on the government to review the HSE's role in investigating road deaths and to work with employers' organisations and unions to tackle work-related road accidents, for example by offering fiscal and financial incentives "to encourage employers to use vehicles with additional proven safety features".

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), which has long campaigned on occupational road risk, welcomed the report. Head of road safety Kevin Clinton said the HSE "could have a much greater part" in managing occupational road risk.

On the role of employers, he added: "It is important to make the correct selection of vehicles so that employees are using the right car or van for the job they have to do.

"But employers also need people, policies and procedures in place to manage occupational road risk as part of their mainstream health and safety policies."

The report can be downloaded here.