Tapping the potential for reducing work-related road deaths and injuries (PIN Flash 49)
Travelling for work is an essential part of Europe’s economy and daily life. Millions of people drive, ride, walk or work on the road as part of their job, whether delivering goods, visiting clients, building and maintaining infrastructure, or commuting to and from their workplace. During these trips, they may be killed or injured, and they may kill or injure another road user. Yet, despite its scale, the risks associated with work-related road use remain insufficiently recognised within both road safety and occupational safety frameworks.
The boundaries between these two domains – road safety and occupational safety and health (OSH) – are often blurred. While the EU’s OSH Framework Directive requires employers to manage all risks arising from work activities, its application to travelling for work is uneven. At the same time, national road safety policies do not always address travelling for work as a distinct risk factor, even though professional drivers and commuters represent a substantial share of overall road deaths and serious injuries. The absence of a common EU definition of a work-related road collision, combined with fragmented data collection, means that the true scale of the problem remains largely hidden.
Where data do exist, they suggest that work-related road deaths represent a significant portion of all road deaths in Europe. Collisions involving professional drivers, those working on the road, employees who travel for work, and commuters account for a considerable burden not only on public health, but also on businesses and public administrations. The human cost is compounded by the economic losses associated with vehicle damage, lost productivity, and compensation. Yet these costs are also where the opportunity for prevention lies. Managing road risk systematically within organisations – just like any other occupational risk – can save lives and resources alike.
This report, the 49th in the ETSC Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) flash series, updates and expands our 2017 analysis of work-related road safety (PIN Flash 33). Drawing on new data from 32 PIN countries, it examines how governments, authorities, and employers are addressing the issue, identifies examples of good practice, and highlights remaining gaps. The findings underscore the need for closer alignment between road safety and OSH systems, stronger data integration, and clearer accountability for road risk management at every level.
Work-related road safety is not a niche concern – it is central to moving towards the EU’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating road deaths and serious injuries by 2050. Recognising driving for work as a shared responsibility between public authorities, employers and individuals is essential to build a culture of prevention on and off the road.