The true number of work-related road accidents will remain unclear after the road safety minister Paul Clark said he had no plans to include such accidents under RIDDOR, despite acknowledging 75% of all work-related deaths occur on the road.

RIDDOR is the HSE’s workplace injury and incident reporting system. Fleets and road safety professionals have been calling for crashes involving at-work drivers to be reported under RIDDOR.

“It makes sense for there to be formal reporting of injuries through RIDDOR to establish the precise scale of the problem,” explained Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at RoSPA.

“Inclusion of work-related road accidents in RIDDOR would serve to highlight to regulatory authorities and employers that work-related road safety is the biggest occupational safety issue. This should lead to more action to tackle the problem and result in more lives saved and injuries reduced.”

However the minister said: “In terms of getting separate statistics we have to balance the demands, because there are many groups and organisations that want this statistic and that statistic.”

He told delegates at Brake’s annual fleet safety forum conference that “getting the balance right” is imperative to avoid an intolerable level of bureaucracy and the potential criticism that would entail.

But, while his stance has left fleets and road safety groups dismayed, they are still continuing to call for a change in the law to give greater transparency.

Brent Mitchell, who as support service director at Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions has responsibility for health and safety and management of driver risk, wants an even greater change in the reporting requirements.

He said: “Not only should RIDDOR incorporate work-related road crashes, it should also be extended outside of work hours, to include driving to and from work.”

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