Work injuries among drivers in the goods-transport branch in Denmark.
BACKGROUND
Goods-transport drivers in Denmark had an elevated rate of hospital contact due to injury compared with the skilled/semiskilled workforce in general in recent years. There is a need to elucidate the causes of their work injuries.


METHODS
We analyzed the Danish National Work Injury Register for the 10-year period 1993-2002.


RESULTS
The vast majority (92.6%) of the work injuries among goods-transport were sustained under non-traffic activities, that is, collecting, loading, unloading, and delivering goods. They fell from height (22.3%), suffered from overexertion (14.2%), got caught between/under objects (12.6%), collided with objects (12.0%), slipped/tripped (10.6%), or got struck by falling objects (9.0%).


CONCLUSIONS
There is a clear need for efforts to prevent work injuries under non-traffic activities among goods-transport drivers in Denmark. For this end, it is necessary to involve not only the drivers' employers for reinforcement of safety procedures, but also the employers' customers for improvement of the physical environment, in which drivers collect, load, unload, and deliver goods.
Shibuya
Hitomi
H
National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark. his@nrcwe.dk
Cleal
Bryan
B
Mikkelsen
Kim Lyngby
KL
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019992:Databases as Topic; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014942:Workers' Compensation; D017132:Workplace / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology