RoadSafetyAtWork.ca provides tools to improve safety for B.C.'s working drivers

BURNABY, BC, Feb. 17, 2012 /CNW/ - WorkSafeBC has launched a new online safe driving website in partnership with the BCAA Road Safety Foundation. RoadSafetyAtWork.ca is aimed at employers whose workers are required to drive in the course of their work.

The website features a host of tips and materials to help employers and workers stay safe while on the road and guides employers through five simple steps to enhance road policies or create new ones:

1. getting management to commit to improvements,
2. reviewing the status of existing occupational road safety measures,
3. identifying risks and hazards,
4. developing strategies, and
5. making an action plan.

Each step provides instructions, sample forms, and/or best practices for B.C. employers in order to reduce and eliminate motor vehicle incidents, regardless of a company's size or industry.

Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government Margaret MacDiarmid says this new website will help employers promote and enhance safety for their drivers. "Employers need to remember promoting workplace safety means ensuring a safety strategy is in place no matter where the work is taking place - and that includes when workers get behind the wheel of a company vehicle. RoadSafetyAtWork.ca will give employers the information and tools they need to keep their workforce both healthy and productive."

WorkSafeBC director of Industry and Labour Services, Dale Walker, says this collection of resources is one more tool to prevent injuries among BC's working drivers. "Between 2006 and 2010, there were, on average, 24 worker deaths related to motor vehicle incidents in B.C. each year. RoadSafetyAtWork.ca will help employers take steps to protect their workers on the road."

Allan Lamb, BCAA Road Safety Foundation president and chief operating officer, agrees. "Road safety applies to all aspects of our lives, including our work. With this website, it's our goal to help employers and employees implement safe driving practices and reduce the number of workers injured or killed as a  result of work-related motor vehicle incidents."

WorkSafeBC and BCAA Road Safety Foundation developed the online tool kit in consultation with a range of public and private employers, along with representatives from industry health and safety organizations. The partners plan to augment RoadSafetyAtWork.ca with additional resources, including an employer outreach program and advisory service, employer-targeted training workshops, and tools for people who use their own vehicles for business, otherwise known as members of the "grey fleet."

RoadSafetyAtWork.ca is one of several road safety initiatives supported by WorkSafeBC and the BCAA Road Safety Foundation. The others include the Cone Zone campaign and the Shift into Winter campaign. Cone Zone aims to prevent injury among roadside workers, such as traffic control persons, landscape maintenance workers, and emergency services personnel, while Shift into Winter raises awareness about the dangers of driving in winter conditions.

WorkSafeBC is an independent, provincial statutory agency governed by a board of directors that serves about 2.3 million workers and more than 200,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born from the historic compromise between B.C.'s workers and employers in 1917, where workers gave up the right to sue their employers and fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. WorkSafeBC is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.

The BCAA Road Safety Foundation is a non-profit, registered charity that works with families, communities, and business partners to reduce the number and severity of driving-related injuries in B.C. by developing effective, community-oriented programs and interventions that make a difference.

To arrange an interview, or for more information, please contact:

Heather Young
Manager, Public Affairs
WorkSafeBC
Tel: [phone]
Cell: 604 818-0020
[email protected]

Lennea Durant
Media Relations
BCAA Road Safety Foundation
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]