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Background Although road traffic injury is reported as the leading cause of work-related death in Australia, it is not clear, due to limitations in previous methods used, just how large a burden it is. Many organisations are unaware of the extent of work-related road traffic injury and, importantly, what can be done to reduce the burden. The proposed research will (i) estimate the prevalence of work-related road traffic injury and (ii) identify the organisational determinants associated with work-related road traffic injury. Methods and design The current study is designed to enumerate the problem and identify the individual driver-level, the supervisor-level and organisational-level factors associated with work-related road traffic injury. The multilevel systems protocol will involve a series of cross-sectional surveys administered to drivers of fleet vehicles (n=1200), supervisors of the drivers (n=1200) and senior managers (n=300) within the same organisation. Discussion The novel use of the multilevel systems protocol is critical to be able to accurately assess the specific determinants of driving safety within each context of an organisation. Results The results are expected to highlight that reducing injury in the workplace requires more than just individual compliance with safety procedures. It will also establish, for the first time, an occupational translation taskforce to ensure that the research findings are adopted into work-place practice and thereby directly contribute to reductions in work-related road traffic injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which assesses the risk factors for injuries and fatalities associated with use of occupational light vehicles (OLV) by workers in New South Wales. It states that the study considered different safety determinants such as the worker, vehicle type and the road. Findings reveal that OLV accident risk factors include negligence on the use of seatbelts and tiredness of the OLV user. It concludes that risks can be mitigated through fatigue management and safer vehicles.

Objective: To estimate occupational light vehicle (OLV) fatality numbers using vehicle registration and crash data and compare these with previous estimates based on workers' compensation data., Method: New South Wales (NSW) Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) vehicle registration and crash data were obtained for 2004. NSW is the only Australian jurisdiction with mandatory work-use registration, which was used as a proxy for work-relatedness. OLV fatality rates based on registration data as the denominator were calculated and comparisons made with published 2003/04 fatalities based on workers' compensation data., Results: Thirty-four NSW RTA OLV-user fatalities were identified, a rate of 4.5 deaths per 100,000 organisationally registered OLV, whereas the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC), reported 28 OLV deaths Australia-wide., Conclusions: More OLV user fatalities were identified from vehicle registration-based data than those based on workers' compensation estimates and the data are likely to provide an improved estimate of fatalities specific to OLV use., Implications: OLV-use is an important cause of traumatic fatalities that would be better identified through the use of vehicle-registration data, which provides a stronger evidence base from which to develop policy responses., (© 2010 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2010 Public Health Association of Australia.)

Objective: To investigate the association between occupational exposure to ionizing, ultraviolet (UV), radiofrequency (RF) and extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation and risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in a population-based case-control study., Methods: The study population consisted of 694 NHL cases, first diagnosed between 1 January 2000 and 31 August 2001, and 694 controls from two regions in Australia, matched by age, sex and region of residence. A detailed occupation history was first obtained using a lifetime calendar and a telephone interview. Exposure to radiation was then assessed using a Finnish job-exposure matrix (FINJEM). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated from logistic regression models that included the matching variables as covariates., Results: For ionizing radiation, the ORs were close to unity. For UV and ELF radiation, the highest exposed group of workers had ORs of 1.32 (95% CI=0.96-1.81) and 1.25 (95% CI=0.91-1.72), respectively. For UV radiation there was a positive dose-response when exposure was lagged by 5 and 10 years (P for trend 0.04 for both lag periods). Workers in the upper tertile of exposure for RF radiation had an OR of 3.15 (95% CI=0.63-15.87), but the estimate was based on very small numbers., Conclusions: Our results do not provide support for an association between NHL and occupational exposure to ionizing or ELF radiation. For UV radiation, our findings are consistent with a weak positive association. Further investigation focusing on UV and RF radiation and NHL is required.