Pan Am readiness includes being extra cautious on our roads

Toronto Hydro wants you to pay attention around work zones

TORONTO, July 6, 2015 /CNW/ - The Pan Am Games are starting later this week, which means traffic in and around the city will be worse than usual. 

Toronto Hydro wants drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to take extra precautions during this time, as crews will be continuing their normal work schedules, and that includes working on Toronto roads. We will also be in a heightened level of alert if outages do occur around the Games.

Our crews are already working with very dangerous electrical equipment, but each year, a significant number of incidents involving our vehicles are caused by other drivers.  Other causes include weather and bad road conditions.

In some cases, our crews have narrowly escaped being hit by cars while working around their Toronto Hydro vehicles.

Toronto Hydro asks drivers to take action to keep our crews safe during this busy summer season:

• Respect the cones. When Toronto Hydro crews are working to restore power, cones denote safe distances to keep you and our crews protected
• Watch your speed. When driving around Toronto Hydro work zones, slow down and use extra caution
• Distracted driving is dangerous.  It's especially dangerous for Toronto Hydro crews working around high voltage equipment on our roads.  Stay focused on the road

We take safety very seriously. Help us prevent accidents on our roads. Slow down and use extra caution when driving or cycling by our crews. They're working for your safety. Please do your part for theirs.

QUICK FACTS

• In 2014, Toronto Hydro crews drove 3,955,433 kilometres around the city
• Toronto Hydro has 574 vehicles among its fleet
• Toronto Hydro will be running radio ads the week of July 6 to remind to drivers to be extra cautious around work zones

QUOTES

"Our Toronto Hydro crews spend a lot of time on the road, making repairs and doing proactive maintenance.  We want drivers to know that these crews are working to keep electricity flowing to their homes and businesses and ask that they have some patience, and use extra caution around our work zones."

-       Tori Gass, Media Relations Specialist, Toronto Hydro

ABOUT TORONTO HYDRO

Toronto Hydro owns and operates an electricity distribution system, which delivers electricity to approximately 740,000 customers located in the city of Toronto. It is the largest municipal electricity distribution company in Canada and distributes approximately 18% of the electricity consumed in the province of Ontario.

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SOURCE Toronto Hydro Corporation

Image with caption: "Toronto Hydro wants drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to use extra caution around work crews, especially during the Pan Am/Parapan Am games. (CNW Group/Toronto Hydro Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150706_C4912_PHOTO_EN_434109.jpg

Tori Gass, Communications and Public Relations, 416-903-4037, [e-mail]; 24-hours media line: 416-903-6845, [e-mail]