Keeping Your Employees Safe on the Road
Keeping Your Employees Safe on the Road
Whether or not your organization has employees who drive motor vehicles as part of their job, all companies have a stake in road safety. Traffic crashes can cause delays in the transporting of goods, can effect your bottom line and most importantly can have a significant impact on your employees.
What are the issues?
Transport Canada, Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police and Waterloo Regional Police are some of the partners working to reduce crashes on our roads. The main focus areas have been seatbelt use, speed/aggressive driving and impaired driving. Recently “distracted driving” has been added to the road safety agenda.
35 Years of Seat Belt Legislation
2011 marks the 35th anniversary of seatbelt legislation in Canada. With this milestone, Canada has achieved its goal of 95 per cent seatbelt usage by 2010.
Who is still not buckling up?
A 2009-10 survey conducted by Transport Canada indicates that seatbelt usage is lowest among drivers of pickup trucks; more females than males use seatbelts; older Canadians have a higher rate of usage than those who are younger; and back-seat occupants use seatbelts less frequently than those in the front. Are these groups part of your workforce?
Why is this important?
Wearing your seat belt correctly will dramatically increase your chance of surviving a motor vehicle collision. For every one per cent increase in seat belt usage, five lives are saved. (Transport Canada)
Proper Use of Seat Belts
The shoulder belt should be worn closely against the body, over the shoulder and across the chest- never under the arm. The lap belt should be firm against the body and low across the hips.
Airbags do not take the place of a seat belt. When air bags activate they reduce the forward movement of the upper torso and minimize impact. They do not prevent riders from being thrown from the car/truck.
Drivers are responsible for ensuring that passengers under 16 years of age are using a seat belt or an appropriate child car seat.
Riding in a vehicle with an unbelted occupant puts you at risk even if you are wearing a seat belt. Any unsecured person or object can become a missile in the event of a crash.
What can you do?
Awareness raising. Even though there is legislation requiring the use of seat belts, people may need to be reminded of their importance. They may not be aware of the risk of unsecured people and objects.
Do you have a policy around seat belt use? It is important to wear seat belts when riding in taxis and limousines too. Ensure that your employees who use this type of transportation are aware of this.
Consultation is available from Project Health staff to assist with policy development for issues related to road safety.
If you would like more information on road safety, please contact Colleen Cooper, Region of Waterloo Public Health Nurse, at 519-883-2000 ext. 5324
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