At a glance
In 2010, NIOSH launched the Center for Motor Vehicle Safety (CMVS) to address the leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States. The CMVS conducts research and develops strategies to prevent work-related motor vehicle crashes and resulting injuries. In this issue, we’re introducing our Lead Team and sharing updates.
Meet our Lead Team and Q&A
- Kyla Hagan-Haynes, Director
- Srinivas Konda, Coordinator
- Guang Chen, Assistant Coordinator
- Dave Fosbroke, Advisor and Partnerships Liaison
- Rebecca Knuth, Lead Health Communication Specialist
Keep reading for the Q&A!
How does MVS fit into your work?
Kyla Hagan-Haynes (KHH): For over a decade, I studied motor vehicle safety programs and policies within the oil and gas extraction industry. I also analyzed oil and gas worker crashes and fatalities to better understand how to prevent them. I just started a new project to research motor vehicle safety among sales and delivery drivers, with a focus on contractors. My current dissertation research is also focused on this group.
Srinivas Konda (SK): I am analyzing workers' compensation claims from motor vehicle crashes and studying trends in work-related motor vehicle deaths across the United States. I'm also creating a dashboard to visualize crashes and fatalities involving large trucks.
Guang Chen (GC): My research has focused on truck driver safety. I started my project about evaluating the effectiveness of collision warning systems in preventing large truck crashes. Since then, I've gained valuable understanding of the safety needs and the distinctive culture prevalent in the long-haul trucking sector.
Dave Fosbroke (DF): I am focusing on a few different areas of workplace motor vehicle safety. One area is the safety of roadway construction workers. Another is the link between crash injury and health data. Finally, I'm also focusing on tools to help employers reduce impairment among employees who drive on the job.
What is your background?
KHH: I was a business major in college! Afterwards, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa. That is where I discovered the important role of public health and the field of epidemiology. I decided to pursue a Master of Public Health degree. After several years working in tribal injury prevention, I received an opportunity to work at NIOSH. Here I am, 14 years later!
SK: I began my career as a practitioner of an alternative system of medicine, treating patients and educating them on preventing diseases and illnesses. As my interest in preventive medicine deepened, it naturally led me into a career centered around safety and health.
GC: I have 41 years of research experience in the field of occupational safety and health—12 years in China and 29 years in the United States with NIOSH. I bring international experience and an understanding of the role of culture and behavior in prevention of motor vehicle crashes and injuries.
DF: At NIOSH, my experiences include running numbers to characterize fatal and nonfatal injuries in agriculture, logging, construction, and motor vehicle operation; developing and evaluating work zone interventions; developing partnerships with industry, academia and labor, state and federal agencies; and foresight scenario building, strategic planning, and program evaluation.
What are some emerging MVS issues?
KHH: The future safety impacts of increasing gig-based work (including app-based work) catches my attention. These drivers often do not have safety training, use their own vehicles, and assume all the risks associated with driving while on the job. If they are injured or their car is damaged, they bear all associated costs, including lost income.
SK: As vehicles increasingly incorporate Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to enhance safety and prevent fatigue and distraction-related crashes, it is important to address emerging issues. The effectiveness of these systems heavily relies on drivers' understanding and proper usage. Misuse, including over-reliance or misunderstanding their limitations, remains a concern that can lead to crashes. Employers can provide training on ADAS to drivers to help them understand that these systems are aids and not substitutes for attentive driving.
GC: Emerging topics that have caught my attention include electric and autonomous trucks, safety standards, liability in truck crashes involving autonomous trucks, and privacy regulations related to research data collection by smart vehicles.
DF: Technological advances continue to help drivers recover from mistakes by providing warnings and intervening on behalf of the driver to prevent a crash. The future ability to exchange data between road infrastructure and vehicles will provide additional opportunities to alert drivers and prevent crashes.
What MVS fact or resource should more people know about?
KHH: I really like this web resource on employer-based driver safety programs developed by colleagues at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. It contains case studies, and information on behavior change theory, and how to evaluate your program.
SK: One crucial workplace motor vehicle safety fact is that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States, accounting for an average of 1,750 fatalities or approximately 35% of all work-related deaths according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
GC: Motor vehicle crashes can be prevented. Workplace driving offers more opportunities for testing safety interventions than is possible for the general public. This includes promoting safe behaviors among employees who drive as part of their job, fostering a culture of safety within companies or industries, and evaluating the effectiveness of prevention strategies. Insights gained from research and prevention efforts in workplace driving can also be applied to improve driver safety off the job.
DF: With the safety enhancements on vehicles since the 1960s, we think of motor vehicle travel as a relatively safe activity. We seldom, if ever, think about the extent of injury and disability that can result from severe collisions. We wear a seat belt knowing it keeps us from being ejected from the vehicle, but collisions can still be dangerous causing internal injuries from seat belts crossing our hips and abdomen.
Website refresh
The new NIOSH @CDC.gov is live! The new site is the result of the agency-wide effort to modernize and transform digital communication at CDC. In the process, we have streamlined our previous web content by more than 65%, updated navigation, and designed a new look and feel. We are excited to share the new CDC.gov with you and hope you find it enriching to your work. Please contact the CDC Office of Communications if you have any feedback or questions.
Some pages that may be of particular interest to our Behind the Wheel at Work readers:
- About Motor Vehicle Safety at Work (see Related Pages menu for topics including fatigued driving and more!)
- Center for Motor Vehicle Safety
- Communication Resources