We have compiled some of the most compelling statistics and research published in the last few decades on the subject of work-related driving across the USA, UK and Globally. We hope these statistics will help organisations across the globe understand the importance of investing in driver safety. We expect the information below will also help safety champions in each organisation put together even more compelling business cases for prioritising driver safety programs.
"For the majority of people, the most dangerous thing they do while at work is drive on the public highway" (Source: Road Safety Observatory)
Global
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In the United States, Australia, and for EU countries in general, work-related motor vehicle crashes are estimated to contribute at least one quarter to over one-third of all work-related deaths. (Source: European Road Safety Report)
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The annual risk of dying in a road collision while driving for business reasons is greater than the risk of dying as a result of all other workplace accidents. (Source: Road Safety Observatory)
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Over 50% of business drivers regularly use a phone when driving, and 88% said they felt a conflict between driving for work and answering work calls. (Source: Road Safety Observatory)
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People who drive for work have around 50% more collisions than those who do not (Source: Lynn & Lockwood, 1998).
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Three key risk factors associated with all types of work-related driving have been identified as fatigue, time pressure, and distraction. (Source: Broughton, Baughan, Pearce, & Buckle, 2003).
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10,268 lives were lost on the road in the European Union in 2016 due to work-related road collisions. Up to 40% of all road deaths are work-related. (Source: European Road Safety Report)
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A Norwegian study found that work-related driving is a highly hazardous activity, involving risks far higher than those encountered in virtually any other occupation or most other activities of daily life. (Source: Occupational risk in road transport in Norway, Working paper of January 30, 2007)
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Work-related road crashes in Australia cost around $AUS 425 million each year, and the average time lost from traffic crashes is greater than from any other workplace injury claim. (Source: Road safety in the workplace: The likely savings of a more extensive road safety training campaign for employees)
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Motor vehicle traffic incident-related deaths accounted for 16% (NZ), 22% (US), and 31% (Australia) of all work-related deaths. (Source: BMJ)
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In Australia over a third of driver fatigue crashes or near-crashes occurred on work-related journeys. 43% of respondents who had a fatigue incident (a crash, near miss or moved out of their lane because of fatigue) stated that their trip was work-related. (Source: European Commission Mobility and Transport Report)
USA
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the US (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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In 2019, an estimated 38,800 people lost their lives to car crashes. About 4.4 million people were injured seriously enough to require medical attention in crashes last year. 40% of motor vehicle accidents are work-related. (Source: NSC and US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event at 2,080, accounting for 40% of all work-related fatalities. (Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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Driver/sales workers and truck drivers had the most fatalities of any broad occupation group at 966. (Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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Motor vehicle accidents cost employers over $56 billion in 2017, with 53% of vehicle accidents causing employees to miss work. 68% of companies reported recent on-the-job accidents in company-owned vehicles, and 41% of companies reported recent on-the-job accidents in employee-owned vehicles. (Source: Motus Research)
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From 2003-2017, more than 27,000 workers in the US died in a work-related motor vehicle crash. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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In 2013, work-related crashes cost employers $25 billion. That was $65,000 per non-fatal injury and $671,000 per death. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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From 2003 to 2008, the annual average fatality rate for work-related driving was 0.9 deaths per 100,000 workers. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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In the US, crash costs typically comprise between 13-15% of a fleet's total spending and collisions cost companies around $54.7 billion a year. (Source: Be safe for cost's sake)
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1 out of 3 people text while driving. Texting while driving increases the risk of crashing by 23 times. (Source: NHTSA, 2018)
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In 2017, 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers. These crashes led to an estimated 50,000 people injured and nearly 800 deaths. (Source: NHTSA, 2019)
UK
An estimated one-third of road traffic collisions in Britain involve someone at work, excluding commuting journeys. The human and financial costs to families, businesses and the wider community are enormous. (Source: Road Safety Observatory)
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In 2016, almost 6,000 people were killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions involving someone driving for work. (Source: Department for Transport).
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In 2016, 61 people were killed in known fatigue-related incidents and around. Due to difficulties identifying fatigue as a contributory factor, the number of people involved in fatigue-related road traffic collisions is likely to be higher. (Source: Department for Transport).
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People driving for work tend to have higher blameworthiness in collisions than other parties involved. Speeding, observational failures, and fatigued have been identified as key collision contributory factors for this group of drivers. (Source: Department for Transport)
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In 2012 HSE estimated that there were 70-100,000 non-fatal work-related road traffic collision injuries a year, with around 30-40,000 of these causing more than three days absence. (Source: HSE)
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In 2000, the HSE estimated the costs to employers arising from "at-work" road traffic collisions to be in the region of £2.7 billion per annum. (Source: HSE)
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At-work driving is believed to account for around 200 deaths and serious injuries every week. (Source: Road Safety Observatory)
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75% of all work-related deaths in the UK occur on the road. (Source: British Safety Council)
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Annually, 66% of company cars in Britain are involved in a claim. The average repair cost of a car is £700. (Source: European Road Safety Report)
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Research in Britain indicates that car and light van drivers with high proportions of work-related mileage have a 53% greater risk of injury crashes than other drivers of similar age, sex, annual mileage and motorway mileage. (Source: Department for Transport)
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A British study found that speeding amongst company car drivers was common for over half the sample, and excessive speeding was common for 13% of the sample. The most important reason was the desire to arrive at meetings on time, even if this meant breaking the speed limit combined with a reduced perception of excess speeding as an important accident risk factor and lower driving experience. (Source: Speeding in relation to perceptions of risk, utility and driving style by British company car drivers)
We will keep adding new stats here as they become published. Please feel free to get in touch to make suggestions and contributions!
