Workplace traffic accidents (ALT). Year 2020 INSST data
The effects of confinement and restrictions due to Covid-19 have affected work-related road accidents. Among others, teleworking, mobility of essential sectors and decrease in activity. The National Institute of Safety and Health at Work (INSST) has presented its new infographic on occupational road accidents, which reflects that in 2020, 32.6% fewer occupational traffic accidents (ALT) occurred than in 2019.
INSST data indicates that 52,248 ALTs were recorded in 2020, 10.3% of the total number of accidents recorded during that year. The percentage increases when mortality is analyzed: of the 751 fatal mishaps that occurred throughout the year, 25.8% were traffic accidents. Of that total of ALTs recorded in 2020, 16,109 took place during the work day, while 36,139 were recorded while traveling.
Since 2007, when the historical data series begins, fewer accidents had only been recorded in 2013, when the figure was slightly lower: 52,129 accidents. Since then it has not stopped growing and in 2019 it reached 77,496.
Profile of the injured parties
Regarding the occupation of the injured during the work day, drivers and operators of mobile machinery, as well as workers in protection and security services, have been the most frequent victims. Their profile is well defined: they are mostly men and under 25 years old. It should be noted that the incidence in the male population was 3.8 times higher than in the female population.
Also in the ALT in itinere young men dominate, but in this case with less difference by sex. By occupation, those most involved in ALT are laborers in agriculture, fishing, construction, manufacturing and transportation industries, operators of fixed facilities and machinery, and restaurant and commerce workers.
The INSST, which in the introduction of the report recognizes the “exceptional” nature of the data due to the special circumstances experienced in 2020, prepares this balance from the computerized file of the official work accident notification reports of the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy (MITES).
