Managing the Risk of Crashes Caused by Winter Conditions:

A presentation for companies that have employees who drive for work in winter conditions

• Review crash statistics • Define responsibilities of owners/employers,

supervisors, and employees • Describe how to manage

risk of crashes caused by winter conditions

• Learn where to find information, tools and resources on safe winter driving

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Overview

Winter driving is hazardous• Motor-vehicle incidents (MVIs) are a leading cause of workplace

deaths in BC

• Each week on average, 24 workers are injured in MVIs and miss time from work1

• More work-related vehicle crashes causing injuries occur between October and February. 1

• Casualty crashes caused by driving too fast for conditions nearly double from almost 140 in October to over 260 in December2

1 WorkSafeBC2 Police reported data, ‘Driving Too Fast for the Conditions’, 2008-2012.

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Everyone has responsibilities for safetyAs an employer you must: • Ensure the health and safety of all your employees• Establish a safety program; take action to eliminate or minimize the

risk of workplace injury • Ensure that your workers are made aware of workplace hazards

(including work-related driving hazards)• Provide your workers with information, training, equipment, and

supervision to follow safe work procedures• Remedy any hazardous workplace condition• (Depending on the size of the firm) support the joint OHS

committee (JOHSC) or worker safety representative

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Everyone has responsibilities for safetyAs a supervisor you must: • Ensure the health and safety of all workers under your direct

supervision• Know the hazards associated with driving, the applicable

regulations, and how to eliminate or minimize the risk of injury caused by the hazards

• Ensure that workers under your supervision:- know the hazards and how to protect themselves- have the necessary training and equipment- follow safe work procedures and practices, and correct them

when they don’t• Consult with the JOHSC / worker safety representative

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Everyone has responsibilities for safetyEmployees must: • Comply with company safety policies and safe work procedures • Report any unsafe work conditions or acts to their supervisor or

employer • Cooperate with JOHSC / worker safety representative

When driving• Comply with the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act, Motor Vehicle Act

Regulations and other applicable laws and statutes

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Managing the risk of crashes

Vehicle preparationFor both company owned and personal vehicles used for work, ensure that vehicles are equipped for winter conditions.

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Vehicle Preparation (cont’d)

• Service vehicles before winter• Install four matched winter tires (look

for the mountain and snowflake logo on the sidewall)• Install new winter wiper blades• Equip all vehicles with a winter-survival kit• Carry a cell phone (and charging cable)• Clear frost from all windows and snow / ice from all vehicle

surfaces before starting the trip

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Managing the risk of crashes

Driver preparationEnsure employees:

• Have the driving skills, knowledge and experience to drive in winter conditions

• Know the company’s winter driving safe work procedures

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Managing the risk of crashes

Managing the risk of crashes Trip preparation• Look at different ways to

conduct business to remove or reduce driving requirements

• If trips need to made:

Check weather and road conditions Plan route to avoid hazardous roads Adjust schedule to allow for more travel time

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Managing the risk of crashes On the road• Slow down: drop speed to match conditions• Maintain a safe following distance (the four-second rule)• Watch for / anticipate black ice (+4°C to -4°C)• Accelerate and brake slowly• Don’t use cruise control• Be visible: always drive

with headlights on

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Tools & Resources Employer Toolkit

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Tools & Resources Tip sheets

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Tools & Resources Tip sheets (cont’d)

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Tools & Resources Tip sheets (cont’d)

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Tools & Resources Tip sheets (cont’d)

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Tools & Resources Winter Driving Survival Checklist

Tools & Resources Websites

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ShiftIntoWinter.ca

DriveBC.ca

RoadSafetyAtWork.com

WorkSafeBC.com

ICBC.com

WeatherOffice.gc.ca

tc.gc.ca

Disclaimer

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This presentation does not take the place of professional occupational health and safety advice and is not guaranteed to meet the requirements of applicable laws, regulations, and rules, including workplace health and safety laws and motor vehicle and traffic laws. The members of the Winter Driving Safety Alliance and their respective employees, officers, directors or agents (collectively “WDSA”) assume no liability for or responsibility for any loss or damage suffered or incurred by any person arising from or in any way connected with the use of or reliance upon the information contained in this presentation including, without limitation, any liability for loss or damage arising from the negligence or negligent misrepresentation of any of the WDSA in any way connected with the information contained in this presentation. The information provided in this presentation is provided on an “as is” basis. The WDSA does not guarantee, warrant, or make any representation as to the quality, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, appropriateness, or suitability of any of the information provided, and disclaims all statutory or other warranties, terms, or obligations of any kind arising from the use of or reliance upon the information provided, and assumes no obligation to update the information provided or advise on future developments concerning the topics mentioned.

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