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.