Canadian Workers Compensation and Truck Safety in British Columbia

British Columbia Employers Learn How to Improve Conditions. Best Practices for Truck Safety is an evidence-based research report developed by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) with the support of WorkSafeBC, the Trucking Association, and the Trucking Safety Council of British Columbia. The report examines the state of safety in British Columbia's trucking industry and identifies key contributing factors to collisions involving heavy trucks on provincial roads "We examined the principal causes of collisions involving heavy trucks in British Columbia and used this as the basis for identifying effective prevention programs and policies to help improve safety on highways," said Brian Jonah, senior research scientist of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation. The causes and characteristics of fatal and injury-only collisions in British Columbia from 2000 to 2006 involving heavy trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 4,536 kg or greater were examined. Comparing other regions in Canada to British Columbia, the report provides information specific to British Columbia on fatal and injury collisions, single vs. multiple vehicle collisions, and at-fault analyses for truck drivers vs. other drivers. It also measures the use of alcohol and driver fatigue. In 2008, WorkSafeBC accepted 1,458 injury claims in the general trucking and moving and storage sectors of the industry. Of these, eight workers died and 645 sustained serious injuries. These accidents resulted in 93,768 days lost and more than $31 million paid to compensate and rehabilitate injured workers. (Italics added.) For the five-year period from 2003 to 2007, there were 8,400 injury claims in these sectors – of these, 60 workers died and 3,584 were seriously injured. Overexertion was the top accident type in both sectors of the industry during the five year period. "Our organization was established last year to help strengthen safety performance in British Columbia's trucking industry and one of our first projects was to fund this study to learn the principal causes of collisions involving heavy trucks," said Rob Weston executive director of the Trucking Safety Council of British Columbia. "The information gathered in this report will be very useful in developing programs to help improve truck safety in our province." The report outlines some of the best safety practices currently being used in British Columbia and identifies leading programs in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. (workersxzcompxzkit).. Safety programs in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are identified as prominent in research, legislation, regulation, fleet safety management, and education. Based on cause of collision data in British Columbia and on current practices in Canada and other countries, best practices models for government, the motor carrier industry and police services are outlined. The full report can be viewed at www.worksafebc.com or www.bctrucking.com. Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.

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