ETSC calls for EU action as data reveal scale of work-related road deaths

Europe is overlooking one of its largest and least acknowledged road safety and occupational health failures: work-related road use. A major new report by the European Transport Safety Council reveals that thousands are killed every year in collisions linked to work activities or commuting – yet governments and EU institutions still lack even a basic common definition of what constitutes a work-related road collision.

According to the report, Tapping the potential for reducing work-related road deaths and injuries, at least 2,922 people died in work-related incidents annually in the EU between 2020 and 2022, and 43 percent of all such deaths occured in the transport sector, including road transport. Data from 16 European countries show that work-related road deaths account for between 30 and 40 percent of all road deaths – but the official numbers are distorted by inconsistent reporting, missing data and incompatible national definitions. In France, work-related road deaths represent 42 percent of all road deaths; in Ireland 29 percent, Italy 16 percent, Germany 10 percent with one country reporting just 2 percent.

Despite this, ten countries still have no national definition of a work-related road collision, and fewer than half record the purpose of a journey in police crash reports. In most EU countries, police data, employer reporting and occupational safety systems remain completely disconnected. The result is a fragmented and underestimated picture that obscures the true scale of the problem.

“Work-related road deaths represent a systemic failure that Europe continues to ignore,” said Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of ETSC. “Professional drivers, riders, commuters and the public are dying because employers, national governments and the EU treat road risk at work as someone else’s problem. It is time for political leadership.”

The report shows that work-related road deaths span professional drivers, workers on or near the road, professional travellers, commuters and third parties – meaning anyone can be a victim of their own, or someone else’s work-related risk. Professional drivers face pressure from long hours, fatigue and time constraints. Commuting remains one of the most dangerous parts of the working day in Europe. Yet employers’ responsibilities vary dramatically across countries, and legal obligations often do not explicitly cover driving for work.

Crucially, the lack of harmonised data makes meaningful prevention much more difficult. ETSC’s investigation found that:

• Among the European countries covered by the report, 20 have a definition for a work-related road collision; 10 do not.
• Only 13 countries include journey purpose in police reports.
• Employer reporting obligations are inconsistent and often exclude self-employed workers and third parties.
• Data sources – police, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) authorities, insurers, coroners – are not linked, leaving large gaps in understanding causes and solutions.

ETSC is calling for immediate action from the European Commission, the European Parliament, Member States and public authorities:

At EU level:

• Adopt a common EU definition of work-related road collisions covering professional drivers, workers on the road, commuters and third parties.
• Extend the EU’s Common Accident Data Set to cover journey purpose for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
• Require EU institutions to lead by example: implement work-related road safety management programmes and procure only Euro NCAP 5-star vehicles across all fleets.
• Ban use of all mobile phones while driving, especially work-related use.
• Explicitly include ‘safe workers’ under the social clause of EU public procurement legislation, so that reducing road risk becomes a recognised requirement in public procurement in the 2026 review.
• Strengthen data reporting to the EU’s CARE database and Eurostat to enable systematic monitoring.

At national level:

• Introduce a national definition and collect annual data on work-related road deaths and serious injuries.
• Link police, OSH and coroner systems to build a complete and reliable picture.
• Require employers to conduct work-related road risk (WRRS) assessments based on Safe System principles and take action to prevent and eliminate those risks.
• Ensure all public authorities adopt WRRS management programmes and lead through procurement of high-safety fleets.

Good practice examples in several Member States show that progress is possible. Italy’s INAIL Co&Si software helps employers quantify the cost benefits of prevention; Germany uses its accident insurance data to guide national strategy; Ireland reshaped its road safety plan after coronial data revealed that 23 percent of road deaths were work-related. But these successes remain the exception.

“Roads are workplaces. Employers and governments must treat them as such,” added Avenoso. “If the EU is serious about eliminating road deaths, it cannot ignore the thousands of people killed every year simply because they were doing their job or getting to it.”

Download the report at: www.etsc.eu/pinflash49