Injury risk significantly higher when driving for work

A third of road deaths and a fifth of serious injuries are sustained in accidents involving a working driver or rider, according to research by UCL. Of 520 fatalities recorded by the police in 2018 from road collisions involving a working driver/rider, 432 (83%) of these were other road users. Working drivers and their passengers accounted for 88 fatalities (17%). Between 2011 and 2018, 39% of pedestrians killed in Great Britain were hit by a working driver (someone who is driving as part of their job, rather than commuting to work). In the report, published by the UCL Centre for Transport Studies, academics identified new trends and risks for occupational drivers and other road users involved in accidents, in order to inform policies and interventions to encourage safer driving. Professor Nicola Christie (UCL Transport Studies) said: "Our research shows that people who drive for work pose a serious risk to others, especially pedestrians. This is a worrying situation because of the rise in van traffic and last mile deliveries as we increasingly shop online, particularly since the start of the pandemic.