New Figures Reveal Extent of Serious Road Casualties Among Drivers at Work

25 September 2008

Data contained in the Department for Transport Road Casualty Statistics Great Britain 2007 Annual Report published today reveals that at least 27.1% of the 334,966 vehicles involved in crashes were being driven either on a work-related journey or on a commute. That compares with 26.7% of the 348,059 vehicles in 2006.

Although a total of 90,877 vehicles last year were identified as being driven on a business trip or a commute when they were involved in a crash - compared with 93,240 in 2006 - the reduction is significantly lower than in relation to the total number of vehicles involved in crashes, hence the percentage increase.

Some 239,930 vehicles for which the journey purpose was not identified by the police when investigating the crash - 250,470 in 2006. RoadSafe believes there is a significant under reporting of the actual number of work journey related vehicles in the official figures.

The data highlights that 55,176 cars were involved in a crash last year while being driven on a work-related journey or a commute. The equivalent figure for light goods vehicles was 8,484. However, with more than 6,000 ‘undefined’ journeys the likelihood is that almost all van crashes were work-related resulting in a substantial cost to business.

The ‘journey purpose’ figures are buried beneath headline road casualty figures that reveal 247,780 people were killed or injured in road crashes last year, 4% fewer than in 2006. A total of 217,060 people were slightly injured in road crashes last year (down 4%), 27,774 people were seriously injured (down 3%) and 2,946 people killed (down 7%).