There are emerging concerns around the potential negative impact that the rapidly growing ‘gig economy’ may be having on overall road safety. The ‘gig economy’ means work done outside of the traditional employer–employee relationship, on an ‘as and when needed’ basis. The research aimed to better understand the road safety implications that are resulting from transport related gig economy work and to understand what is being done in other jurisdictions to mitigate identified risks.
While the study found limited evidence to date of serious harm related to gig work, there is tangible prevalence of reported harm, and it is the widespread exposure to multiple and cumulative risk factors across the system that warrants system responses.