Road accidents not to be recorded as workplace injuries

Injuries suffered on the road by employees who drive as part of their jobs will not be recorded as work-related accidents, one organisation has claimed.

According to the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the government is ignoring calls for work deaths on the road to be reportable under the Reporting of Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations.

Ray Hurst, president of IOSH, claims health and safety figures underestimate the true extent of workplace injuries by ignoring those suffered on the road.

"The roads are a major hazard, and they are also a major source of employment … work-related road deaths are a gaping hole in our health and safety recording," he said.

Mr Hurst added there are between 800 and 1,000 deaths on the road each year involving people who drive as part of their job.

In other news, the president has written to the Daily Telegraph concerning its article which claimed health and safety officials had banned school children from taking part in a sack race due to fears they may fall and injure themselves.

Mr Hurst said the decision had nothing to do with health and safety concerns.