Drive, Walk or Cycle on the Job? Here's Help Getting Home Safely
New program offers Ontario business owners free traffic safety resources and employee training
TORONTO, April 29, 2018 /CNW/ - Motor vehicle incidents are the leading cause of workplace fatalities in Ontario. For many workers across the province, the streets are their workplace. Whether they deliver products, walk to a meeting, drive to a job site or just pick up lunch for a client meeting, they are travelling for work. Business owners in Ontario whose workers travel on the job are responsible for their safety.
The En Route to Safety program offers Ontario businesses free resources and online training for workers who drive, walk or cycle on the job.
En Route to Safety is a non-profit program created by Wilfrid Laurier University's Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management (SHERM) department, and funded though the Ontario Ministry of Labour's Occupational Health and Safety Prevention Innovation Program. The program also partnered with Ontario municipalities, police services, private businesses, and health and safety professionals who donated time, multi-media materials and expertise.
The program includes:
- An employer guidebook: How to Create a Traffic Safety Program – Your 8-Step Plan.
- Three online training modules for workers who drive, walk or cycle on the job.
Stephanie Kibbee, Director of SHERM, says the guidebook was created for Ontario business owners who may not have formal health and safety training or a dedicated safety person on staff.
"The goal was to take these somewhat complex, specialized health and safety processes and break them down into accessible steps employers can apply directly to their workplaces," says Kibbee. "The hope is that our guidebook – when combined with the employee training - will provide a solid foundation for Ontario business owners to really give traffic safety the attention it deserves in the workplace."
Explainer video: https://youtu.be/7j3pi-yltZk
New hooks:
- April 28 - National Day of Mourning for those who died on the job. This program offers a way to proactively prevent deaths in the workplace.
- Tragic event in Toronto highlights how vulnerable we all are on the streets. This program offers employers a free way to help safeguard their employees who travel on the job.
En Route to Safety Mission Statement:
- To help Ontario employers create traffic safety programs for their workplaces with the goal of reducing motor vehicle incidents, injuries and fatalities, and to offer free employee training to all employers regardless of size, budget or business sector.
SOURCE En Route to Safety
Janet White Bardwell, WLU, En Route to Safety Program, [email protected], (519) 884-0710 ext. 2311
Share this article