Workers are 50% more likely to have an accident during their morning commute. The risk is even greater on winter mornings, according to a study carried out on Friday by the P&V insurance group, which examined 11,000 accident reports over the last seven years.
After remaining fairly stable in the pre-Covid period, the number of accidents during a journey to work rose again (+15%) in 2022 and 2023, according to the group, which owns the insurers P&V and Vivium.
Pandemic measures and the shift to remote work in 2020 and 2021 had, in turn, severely lowered the stats. This upward trend seems to be linked to the transition to a gentler form of mobility, with the emergence of electric scooters and bicycles.
One accident in three that results in at least one day's absence from work leaves the victim unable to work for more than a month. One victim in ten will remain in convalescence for more than three months.
Going to work is far more dangerous than coming back. According to the P&V Group, 50% more accidents are reported in the morning than at the end of the day. There are also 50% more accidents in autumn and winter than in spring and summer.
The P&V group concludes that the most accident-prone period is the winter morning commute. According to the insurer, factors contributing to this include morning stress, peak-hour traffic, lack of daylight, and uncleared roads in winter.
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It should also be noted that the proportion of accidents on the way to work involving a two-wheeler (bicycle, electric scooter, scooter) has risen by 50% since 2017, particularly in Flanders where two-wheelers are predominant.
Finally, age and the severity of the consequences are closely correlated, notes the P&V Group: the older a person gets, the more serious the impact can be, leading to a long period of rehabilitation.
