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Abstract
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Virtual Pre-Conference Global Injury Prevention Showcase 2021 - Abstract Book - # 1G.003
Introduction The Sustainable Development Goals strive to halve the number of deaths from road traffic injuries. Driving on public roads is a common activity in many occupations and industries. Previous New Zealand (NZ) research suggests that work-related driving contributes significantly to the overall burden of work-related fatal injury. This presentation will identify and describe the contribution of work-related driving injuries to fatalities that occurred on a public road in NZ between 2005 and 2014.
Methods Data collection involved: 1) identifying all possible injury deaths in those aged 0-84 years from mortality records using selected external cause of injury codes; 2) linking these to Coronial case files; 3) reviewing and coding work-related cases; and 4) restricting to motor vehicle traffic crashes (MVTC). Frequencies, percentages and rates per 100,000 workers/persons were calculated. The burden of 'bystanders to others' work' and people 'commuting to/from work' was also quantified.
Results A total of 919 work-related MVTC fatalities occurred on public roads (216 workers, 227 commuters, and 476 bystanders). Work contributed to 33% of transport-related deaths in New Zealand. The Transport sector was the major contributor to work-related MVTC fatalities (42%) while the Utilities sector had a notably high rate (8.5 per 100,000 workers).
Conclusions One third of MVTC fatalities in NZ are work-related therefore interventions focusing on occupational and general road safety mechanisms could provide beneficial reductions in the national road toll. These data have informed NZ's new road safety strategy, Road to Zero, informing the introduction of a new pillar in work-related driving.
Language: en |