The first international conference on road safety at work has been hailed a major success.

Over 220 delegates from more than 40 countries attended the Washington-based event, which was organised by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and partners including the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, International Labour Organization, US Department of State, and National Safety Council.

Delegates discussed strategies to prevent road crashes involving at-work drivers.

The conference white paper conclusions were:
 

  • Occupational road safety makes up a substantial proportion of the road toll and of occupational injuries and deaths and can play a significant role in improving general road safety around the globe.
  • There is a consensus for the need to adopt a systems-based approach to at-work road safety engaging all stake-holders.
  • At the macro or government level better surveillance data is required to identify purpose of journey in road safety statistics and include on-road incidents in health and safety datasets to guide and evaluate policy, regulation and enforcement. Leadership is also required by governments and NGOs to manage the safety of their own people driving for work purposes.
  • At the organisational level, the business case, plus reviews of the existing situation, framed by a systems-led audit approach such as the Haddon Matrix is important. This should be supported by rigorous evaluation.
  • Further efforts are required to link research and practice more closely, and continue to engage governments, researchers, practitioners and NGOs around the globe.

Ed Dubens, CEO of Interactive Driving Systems said: "We felt that the conference was a great success, and the positive energy and enthusiasm of the participants at the event could be felt from the first moment to the last.

"NIOSH and itspartners should be congratulated for hosting such an excellent event, which will shape the future of occupational road safety for many years to come."

The full conference proceedings will be available online after the end of April at www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/twu/global

The conference white paper, written by Dr Will Murray, is available for review and comments online, also atwww.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/twu/global