Accident/Ill-Health Statistics & Road Transport Statistics
Accident & Ill Health Statistics
Accident/ill-health statistics can paint a picture that can be a useful tool for the H&S practitioner. Such information can be used to identify specific trends and this can be useful in targeting a safety campaign etc.
Whilst most companies prepare accident statistics for their own purposes, sometimes it is useful to view the bigger picture. Since before the introduction of RIDDOR (Reporting of Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) the HSE has been producing UK-wide statistics on an annual basis. The current statistics are for the year 2003/2004 with information obtained from a variety of sources. The tables for 2004/2005 will not be available until later this year after the “number-crunching” exercise has been completed.
The HSE website for this information is: www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh0304.pdf
You will need the Adobe Acrobat reader to view this information as it is in the pdf format. There is a wealth (40 pages) of statistical information displayed on the site. This covers everything from fatal and non-fatal injuries, the targets for Revitalising Health and Safety through to information on various kinds of ill-health at work.
This is a useful site and whilst the information is sufficiently detailed, it is easy to access and to read.
Road Transport Accident Statistics
The best site for this information is the Department for Transport website which can be found at:
Department for Transport
This site contains a raft of useful information but is a little complicated to manoeuvre when trying to find a definitive information category. However, all the information on road transport accidents is there. On the opening page a drop down menu on the RHS contains a heading “Transport Statistics” and by clicking on this it will open up a page with a choice of available information. Just clicking on “Route to Data” will open a page, again with choices. Click on “Transport Statistics for Great Britain” and you will find plenty of information all in different categories.
These two sites should give sufficient information on national statistics for the safety professional. Other sites, usually owned by insurance companies, will also provide information but be wary, a lot of this is claim based and does not necessarily give a true overall picture!
Frank Cooper MIOSH RSP
