GUEST COMMENTARY
Every year, occupational safety hazards are analyzed, and actions are taken to highlight the common culprits. For example, in slip-and-falls, studies indicate that poor building maintenance is often to blame.
Other injuries related to machinery or due to infectious substances also occur repeatedly in these studies. Often overlooked by employers is one of the deadliest workplaces in the country. We are not speaking of a factory or construction site, but of the shared public roadway where employees drive to and from work or put in the longest hours.
In 2024, transportation accidents accounted for almost 40% of all fatal occupational injuries. In Texas alone, over 240 lives were lost in these crashes — underscoring the scale of this danger at the state level.
However, while companies enforce strict safety protocols on job sites, work-related driving is often treated as personal rather than an organizational responsibility.
As such, the road remains under-monitored, and far too many employees pay the ultimate price.
Driving Safety: Risk and Hidden Dangers of Work-Related Travel
In reality, work-related driving spans across many different industries and job titles. However, the risks associated with this daily factor seldom receive the same scrutiny as those conducted for on-site jobs.
A tragic case in Northern California has illustrated the deeper stakes of this oversight.
News reports revealed an accident that involved a driver operating a company-owned vehicle, who recklessly crossed a double-yellow line, sending a family’s car down an embankment and killing a 13-year-old girl.
Although the liable party later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, the incident illustrates a broader context: that beyond a driver’s error, risky driving can also arise from operational pressures such as tight schedules, delivery deadlines, fatigue and performance-based metrics and incentives.
These realities are particularly concerning given that more than 13.7 million Americans, including nearly 1.3 million Texans, work in transportation- related occupations.
An employer wouldn’t dream of letting an employee operate a forklift without a certification, yet they often hand over the keys to a 5,000-pound company truck with zero specialized defensive training. If a company harvests the profit of the journey, it must also own the risk.
Workplace Driving Safety: How to Address Road Hazards Effectively
Addressing on-the-job driving incidents requires more than litigation after a tragedy; It demands a proactive safety culture that tackles the pressures that drive risky behavior.
That said, employers can reduce risk by providing comprehensive fleet safety training, implementing policies that prioritize rest over quotas and using telematics or monitoring systems to identify unsafe driving patterns before they lead to crashes Regular risk assessments can also uncover gaps in schedules, workloads or performance incentives that may prompt employees to make unsafe decisions.
When companies embrace these measures, they protect not only their employees but also the communities they serve.
More importantly, it underscores that employer accountability is not merely a legal obligation, but a practical risk-management approach that strengthens operations and reduces the likelihood of preventable accidents.
Ultimately, the responsibility for roadway safety extends far beyond individual drivers. As millions of Americans rely on the roads to perform their jobs, employers must actively oversee on-the-road work, not just traditional job sites.
The road may be the most traveled workplace, but with deliberate attention and proactive policies, it does not have to remain the deadliest.
O’Brien & Zehnder Law Firm is led by Elk Grove, California, attorneys John O’Brien and Grant Zehnder.
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