Driving (work-related road safety)

A key area of common risk for all GHSL agencies involves the use of vehicles and driving for work purposes. This area of risk has been widely discussed at GHSL forum and events and both resources and practices have been shared.

In December 2019 the Road to Zero: NZ’s road safety strategy 2020-2030(external link) was launched, Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is the lead agency supporting the coordination and implementation of work-related road safety to the strategy. The Road to Zero Strategy explicitly states that businesses and organisations all have clear obligations for work-related road safety which covers all work-related activity in New Zealand.

The strategy states “Every day, thousands of people travel on our roads while at work. Some of these people are professional drivers, moving people and goods around the country. Others drive as a secondary part of their main role, such as a tradesperson moving between jobs, a salesperson visiting clients, and the many thousands of people working in agriculture and the emergency services. All of these people have the right to come home from work healthy and safe. However, far too many workers are involved in crashes that result in deaths and serious injuries”

The GHSL works closely with Waka Kotahi on how to improve the management of this risk area within the sector. We have a Community of Practitioners group who meet regularly to discuss, share and collaborate on the shared expertise we have within the sector, and decide on how best to promote and improve the work done.