A historic unknown: work-related vehicle fatalities

The true numbers of work-related vehicle fatalities are unknown, due to the difficulties in gathering information after incidents occur.
Dr Anne Drummond explains why she and her colleagues are reviewing more than a thousand coroner files in Ireland to investigate the extent of the under-estimation.

The first recorded road traffic fatality in the UK and Ireland was in 1869 in Co. Offaly, when Mary Ward, a passenger, died after falling out of an automobile as it went around a bend. In 1896, Bridget Driscoll was struck by an automobile in the grounds of Crystal Palace (pictured), and died – the first pedestrian fatality. Both vehicles were accused of travelling at reckless speed (4 mph). At Mrs. Driscoll’s inquest, the coroner said he hoped “such a thing would never happen again”. Unfortunately, it did.

Road traffic incidents remain a major cause of death. Despite much recent road safety progress, 1,910 people died on the roads in Great Britain and Ireland in 2013. When police are called to a road traffic incident, they collect information on the person(s) and vehicle(s) involved, including whether anyone died (either at the scene or within 30 days).

Until very recently, no information was collected on the purpose of the journey, so we could not know if the fatality involved a worker (worker driver or road worker) or if they were killed by a vehicle that was engaged in a work activity (bystander death).

While information is now being collected, it is limited – literally a ‘purpose of journey’ box is ticked. However, coroners’ inquest files contain very detailed statements from witnesses, which often include information on work-relatedness. In fact, Bridget Driscoll’s death was work-related; she was a bystander. She was killed by a demonstration vehicle being driven by a salesman, engaged in a work activity. We know this because her death was investigated by a coroner. [1]

The aim of this IOSH-funded research is to determine the extent of under-estimation of work-related road traffic fatalities in Ireland. This will be done by reading all relevant coroners’ road traffic files (for 2008-2011) and comparing the numbers found to the work-related deaths reported to the Irish Health and Safety Authority, as well as collecting relevant work-related data, where provided. We know from previous research that there will be more work-related deaths in the coroner files; we just don’t know the extent or the circumstances.

This is important to safety and health professionals as an emerging area of risk. Many employers don’t include road risks in their risk assessment unless their workers are actually driving a heavy goods or public service or liveried vehicle. Many do not consider the risks to workers who drive their own cars for work, or the risk posed by their work vehicles to bystanders. We need to know the types of incidents that result in work-related deaths.

The research findings should improve workplace practice by estimating the extent of the problem. It will raise employers’ awareness of risks to their employees, and facilitate development, by statutory agencies, of targeted guidance for employers on their responsibilities towards different risk groups.

The findings will be published in a report by IOSH in 2016 and a research paper will be sent to safety and health journals. We also plan to present the findings at IOSH and road safety events.

Dr Anne Drummond (FIOSH) is director of the Centre for Safety and Health at Work at University College Dublin

Reference

[1] http://bit.ly/1JzHjvW

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