Take part in the annual Road Safety at Work Week March 7-11

Help employers reduce the number of work-related road crashes

RICHMOND, BC, Feb. 22, 2016 /CNW/ - This year, the second annual Road Safety at Work Week  is focusing on "Employer Responsibility" to help employers in BC better understand their responsibilities to employees who drive for work.  

Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of traumatic workplace deaths in BC. Twenty-four workers a year on average are killed and another 1,300 are injured due to motor vehicle crashes while driving for work. (Source: WorkSafeBC, 2010 to 2014). 

In Canada, requirements pertaining to workplace road safety are contained in provincial and federal Acts and Regulations. They identify the legal obligations of owners, employers, supervisors and drivers applicable to work-related driving.

It is important that employers understand their role in workplace road safety - they have the same duty to ensure the safety of employees when they are behind the wheel as when they are in the office, on the shop floor or on a construction site.

Employers are also responsible for employee safety whether the employee drives a company vehicle or their personal vehicle for work purposes.

To help, Road Safety at Work has developed an online course, Know Your Responsibilities, to provide employers with practical knowledge of relevant statutes, how they can satisfy requirements, and where they can access resources to help build and implement necessary measures and actions.

There are also quizzes to test your knowledge, guides for running tailgate meetings and information sheets to distribute to employees available at roadsafetyatwork.ca.

Road Safety at Work Week is an annual event that provides an opportunity for BC workplaces to increase awareness about work-related road safety. Employers are encouraged to take this opportunity to commit to implementing safe driving-for-work policies and procedures for their workplace or improving existing ones.

Follow @RoadSafeAtWork and use #RSAWWeek to join the conversation on social media.

Road Safety at Work Week is an initiative of WorkSafeBC, the Justice Institute of BC, and a steering committee of road safety and occupational health and safety professionals from around BC representing various industries.

Quotes:

Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour, Shirley Bond -

Being in the workplace means being on the road for some British Columbians, so it is very important that employers in our province are aware of their responsibilities to their employees. I encourage employers to check out the many safety resources available to help them ensure that every worker gets home to their families safely at the end of the work day.

WorkSafeBC Industry and Labour Services Manager, Mark Ordeman -

We hope that employers, managers and supervisors will take advantage of the road safety resources available to them to improve their driving-for-work safety policies. Being proactive about road safety is smart business and it saves lives.

Road Safety at Work Week Steering Committee Members:
The Road Safety at Work Week Steering Committee is a group of individuals representing employers and associations from across British Columbia. Members provide ideas and feedback to guide the development of Road Safety at Work Week campaigns.

About WorkSafeBC:
WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a board of directors that serves about 2.2 million workers and more than 215,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born from the historic compromise between BC'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.

SOURCE Road Safety At Work

Lennea Durant, Media Relations, Road Safety at Work, Tel: [phone], [email protected]; Trish Knight Chernecki, Sr. Manager Government & Media Relations, WorkSafeBC, Tel: [phone], [email protected]