Commuting Accident (Wegeunfall)
In Germany a commuting accident is an occupational accident on the direct route to and from the place of work that is connected with the insured activity (§ 8 para. 2 SGB VII), and in Austria an occupational accident on the way to or from the workplace (§ 175 para. 2 ASVG); Switzerland has no separate category and treats the commute as a non-occupational accident, or as an occupational accident for part-time employees working fewer than eight hours a week (Art. 7 para. 2 UVG).
Concept under German law
Under § 8 para. 2 no. 1 SGB VII the insured activity also includes travelling the direct route to and from the place of work that is connected with the insured activity. Insurance cover begins when the insured person passes through the outer door of their residential building and ends on reaching the company premises; the choice of means of transport is free. Certain deviations from the direct route are expressly protected: the detour to place children in the care of others because of the occupational activity, the detour within a car-sharing arrangement (§ 8 para. 2 no. 2 SGB VII), journeys to store or maintain work equipment (no. 3), and the journey from accommodation at the place of work to the family home (no. 4). Privately motivated interruptions and detours – such as shopping or visiting a restaurant – suspend cover for their duration; in the case of substantial detours for personal reasons cover only revives once the direct route is resumed. Alcohol-related unfitness to drive as the essential cause excludes a commuting accident.
Legal consequences and distinction
The commuting accident is a fully fledged occupational accident with all benefits of statutory accident insurance – medical treatment, injury benefit, injury pension, survivors’ benefits – and is financed solely from employers’ contributions. Unlike for accidents at the workplace, the exclusion of liability under § 104 SGB VII does not apply to accidents in general traffic; the accident insurance carrier therefore frequently takes recourse against the motor liability insurer of the other party (§ 116 SGB X). The commuting accident differs from the business trip in that business journeys count directly as part of the insured activity.
Country comparison
Austria defines the commuting accident in § 175 para. 2 no. 1 ASVG in practically the same way, as an accident on a route connected with the employment to or from the place of work or training, likewise including journeys for childcare and car-sharing. In Switzerland the category does not exist: because the UVG also covers non-occupational accidents, the commute is a non-occupational accident for full-time employees (Art. 8 UVG) with the premium borne by the employee; only for part-time employees working fewer than eight hours a week, who have no non-occupational cover, does it count as an occupational accident (Art. 7 para. 2 UVG). In Switzerland benefits are identical for both categories, but reductions for gross negligence affect only non-occupational accidents.
Legal basis
- DE: § 8 para. 2 nos. 1–4 SGB VII
- AT: § 175 para. 2 no. 1 ASVG
- CH: Art. 7 para. 2 and Art. 8 UVG