Road Safety. Background Information. Motor Vehicle Collisions

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1 Background Information Motor Vehicle Collisions For many Canadians, the riskiest part of their job is their time spent on the road driving. Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of injury and death at work. 1 Statistics from Canadian workers' compensation boards show that from , motor vehicle collisions were a leading cause of work place death and accounted for 35 per cent of all work place injury fatalities in You may have employees who drive company vehicles or who drive their personal vehicles for work purposes. Perhaps none of your employees drive for work purposes. Regardless, road safety impacts all employers because employees travel outside of work time and often have to travel to and from the workplace. Collisions, on work time or outside of work time, can have a significant impact on employees and the employer. An injured worker may be away from the job for an extended period of time which can impact the company s productivity but also cause hardship for the employee. In in Waterloo Region, there were a total of 6,004 motor vehicle collisions resulting in 11 fatalities and 1,796 injuries. 3 Promoting safe driving practices for your employees, at all times, is good for your business. Employers have a responsibility to ensure that their employees operate vehicles in a safe manner. Drinking and Driving Although drinking and driving legislation is more restrictive, it continues to be a problem on our roads. There are now sanctions for any driver with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 or higher. It doesn t take a lot to reach this level. According to the Ministry of Transportation, each year, about 16,000 people are convicted of drinking and driving with a blood alcohol concentration above 0.08 in Ontario almost two people each hour. 4 About a quarter of the province s annual road fatalities are alcohol-related. What can you do? Having policies in place that outline specific expectations with regard to alcohol consumption while on work time, including at lunch, can reduce incidents and protect your company from claims related to drinking and driving. Impairment starts with the first drink so abstaining from alcohol when planning to drive is the safest choice. For more information about alcohol and the workplace see the Substance Misuse Prevention handbook section. July 2015 (DOCS ) Page 1 of 5

2 Distracted Driving Distraction is anything that takes you away from the task of driving. Even a moment's distraction can be dangerous. A second or two may not seem like much, but at 50km/hr, you will travel 14 metres in one second. A lot can happen in a second or two. Being distracted causes drivers to react more slowly to traffic conditions or events, such as another vehicle stopping to make a left turn, or pulling out from a side road. Distracted drivers fail more often to notice or recognize potential hazards, including pedestrians, bicycles or debris on the road. 5 Electronic devices can be particularly distracting. Using either a hand-held or hands-free cell phone while driving makes it four times more likely that you will be involved in a collision. 6 Hands free is not safer than hand-held. The legislation around Distracted Driving only pertains to hand-held devices. Having policies in place such as a Cell Phone Use While Driving outline behavior expectations, support safe driving and can protect your company from incidents related to distracted driving. What can you do? Workplaces need to ensure that their policies and practices are in compliance with the law but also address the threat posed by hands-free devices. It is recommended that a company s cell phone policy be comprehensive and include prohibiting hand-held and hands free devices while driving. Project Health has an online toolkit to help your company develop a comprehensive Cell Phone Use While Driving policy see Seat Belts Seatbelts save lives. In Canada most people wear seatbelts. However, there is still a small percentage of drivers and passengers who do not buckle up. Young men, and men in general, rear-seat passengers, those driving vehicles carrying goods and company car drivers are those most likely to not buckle up. 8 The latest national figures show that about 30 per cent of occupants who were killed in motor vehicle collisions and 15 per cent of those who were seriously injured were not wearing their seatbelts. 7 What can you do? Ensure your workplace policy complies with the law and addresses seatbelt use while driving or riding on company business. Every one needs to wear a seatbelt every time. July 2015 (DOCS ) Page 2 of 5

3 Program Planning Goals 1. To provide a supportive and safe working environment to reduce the number of motorized vehicle collisions and employee related injuries. 2. To recognize and reduce potential health risks or health hazards within the work environment in relation to motorized vehicles. 3. To encourage active and supportive educational opportunities and ongoing safety assessments of motorized vehicle use, knowledge and learning needs. Applying a Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion Approach Awareness Raising Use bulletin boards and displays featuring resources related to motorized vehicle safety, collision prevention and tips for proper use of cell phones and seatbelts. Dedicate an accessible area to display pamphlets and resources regarding the safe operation of motorized vehicles, license requirements, legislation, collision prevention and community resource information Include short articles in an internal newsletter or staff s (check websites and local newspaper for relevant articles) Have road safety policies and discuss them at staff orientation Skill Building Incorporate presentations/workshops discussing issues of motor vehicle safety and driver/passenger responsibilities through lunch and learn sessions or training workshops Allow employees/wellness Committee/Health & Safety Committee members to attend training courses related to motorized vehicle safety/injury prevention DID YOU KNOW? Defensive driving courses assist employees in recognizing and controlling hazards associated with driving. Support defensive driver training programs for employees by offering courses or subsidies for employees. July 2015 (DOCS ) Page 3 of 5

4 Creating Supportive Environments Provide on-going education for management and employees related to motorized vehicle safety Provide reimbursement for employees who attend training sessions Reinforce motorized vehicle safety as a primary focus within the work environment Ensure regular maintenance on company vehicles and develop a system for employees to report concerns Perform regular inspections of company parking lot to ensure hazards are eliminated and safety is promoted (e.g. signage, pavement markings, lighting, delivery routes, entrances/exits etc.) Regularly review workplace collision statistics, implementing recommendations to reduce and eliminate hazards to prevent further collisions Eliminate unnecessary driving by employees. Encourage car pooling and alternative transportation to/from and during work hours. Consider alternatives to face to face meetings such as teleconferencing or webinars Set a maximum on the number of hours your employees can drive in a day. Make sure there are rest breaks taken during this time Ensure that your employees who drive as part of their work duties have a valid and appropriate driver s license for the class of vehicle they drive. Take a photocopy and put it in their personnel file Provide company vehicles with stickers reading How s my driving? Call Creating Healthy Workplace Policy Ensure policies for company owned vehicles detailing service, maintenance, driver qualifications, etc., are developed and implemented Develop and implement policies regarding driving on company property as well as on roads, which provides details on parking, cell phone use, accepted speed, and conduct Have a policy addressing the use of electronic devices while driving, seatbelt use, accepted speed and conduct Have clear policies on alcohol and drug use. If an employee has a motorized vehicle collision while under the influence, your company could be held liable Allow flex-time/flexible scheduling policies for personal leave to attend personal car service appointments Allow flex-time/flexible scheduling policies for severe weather days For more information or consultation, (TTY ) projecthealth@regionofwaterloo.ca July 2015 (DOCS ) Page 4 of 5

5 Region of Waterloo Public Health Resources Project Health has a number of resources available for planning, implementing and evaluating your workplace wellness activities. As well, we have a number of links to external resources that you may find helpful. Please see for further resources on this topics area. Also, the Public Health Resource Centre has a number of displays, educational kits, DVDs, posters, books, and pamphlets relevant to workplace health. Search for resources using the online catalogue. Or simply contact Resource Centre staff with your topic and they will suggest resources for you. Note that resources may be booked in advance. For more information, click here: Phone: phrc@regionofwaterloo.ca References 1. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Health and safety statistics [Internet]. Ontario: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Canada); [updated 2014; cited June 20, 2014]. Available from: 2. AWCBC research project summary [Internet]. Mississauga (ON): Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada [cited 2012 Aug 2]. Available from: 3. Ministry of Transportation. Ontario road safety annual report [Internet]. Ontario: Ministry of Transportation (Canada); [updated March 2013; cited June 20, 2014]. Available from: 4. Statistics Canada. Impaired driving Canada, 2011 [Internet]. Statistics Canada; 2011 [cited 2015 Jun 30]. Available from: 5. Canadian Automobile Association. The Issue with Distraction. [Internet]. Canadian Automobile Association; [cited 2014, June 23]. Available from: 6. Ministry of Transportation. Driving requires your full attention [Internet]. Ontario: Ministry of Transportation (Canada); 2012 [cited 2012 Aug 2]. Available from: 7. Transport Canada. Canadian motor vehicle traffic collision statistics: 2013 [Internet]. Transport Canada; 2013 [cited 2015 Jun 30]. Available from: 8. National Safety Council. Seatbelts. [Internet]. National Safety Council Itasca, Illinois, USA; [cited 2014, June 23]. Available at: July 2015 (DOCS ) Page 5 of 5