There has been a rash of accidents involving snowplows in Saskatchewan lately. The latest incident involves a provincial snowplow that was hit  by a semi-trailer on the Trans-Canada Highway on Sunday afternoon, January 16. It was actually the third such incident in less than two weeks.

According to the Highways Ministry, the latest accident occurred during whiteout conditions near Balgonie. The semi swerved and hit the snowplow on the right rear side, causing extensive damage to both vehicles. Neither driver was injured.

That particular crash followed a more serious accident on Highway 40 near Shellbrook on Friday morning, January 14, in which a snowplow operator was plowing in the southbound lanes of the highway when a northbound car crossed into the wrong lane and hit the snowplow head on. The driver of the car in that accident was treated for minor injuries, while two passengers — a woman and a small child — received non-life-threatening injuries.

Another snowplow was hit by a car around noon on Jan. 6. In that incident, the operator had been plowing on Highway 19 near Elbow when he was rear-ended.  According to the Ministry’s report, the driver had entered the whiteout created by the plow before the crash.

Here are some basic safety tips for all drivers when operating near snowplows:

• Stay alert! If you’re on a major road and it’s snowing, there are likely to be plows working.
• Note that snowplows travel slower than posted speeds, and always yield to them.
• Remember that a snowplow weighs far more than a car, and a crash is more likely to do more damage to you and your vehicle than the snowplow and its operator.
• Give snowplow operators plenty of room to do their jobs.
• Never drive into a snow cloud.
• Never use cruise control on wet or icy roads.
• Slow down and be patient. Allow for a safe distance between your vehicle and a snowplow.

Wait until the snowplow pulls over (they do so every 10km) to pass.

Last summer, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) began testing a fully mobile work zone barrier system during a concrete repair project on Highway 115, southwest of Peterborough.

The new system is fully mobile, consisting of a wheeled unit, which is pulled by a standard truck tractor. The unit can be deployed relatively quickly and, because of its reversible axles, it can easily be reconfigured for either right or left applications in about half an hour.

These new mobile units, which are bright orange to alert drivers that road work is taking place, reduce the need for road crews to set up a Temporary Concrete Barrier (TCB), which means they can finish road work and reopen a lane in less time.  By adding panels, the size of the work zone can be expanded to as much as 31 metres, and the systems are also customizable, including such options as portable message signs, auxiliary lighting and a privacy barrier. The unit meets U.S. National Cooperative Highway Research Program 350 TL-3 crash test requirements, as well.

The mobile work zone barriers increase the safety of maintenance and construction crews, according to a number of test projects, and past use by others. The state of California has been deploying such mobile barriers since 2004, for example, and they have proven to be very time effective and safe. California refers to its mobile barriers as “Balsi Beams,” because they were developed after worker Mark Balsi was killed by a motorist while picking up trash along the highway. California’s Balsi Beam was among those demonstrated to MTO officials at a conference several years ago, which led to last summer’s trial.

Construction crews have so far found it easy to adapt to the devices, and feel very confident working behind them.  The Highway 115 trial project proved the units to be so effective that the contractor’s schedule was advanced, and work was completed ahead of time, because they were able to eliminate the work necessary in placing and removing the TCB.

Due to the success of the initial mobile barrier trial, MTO expects to expand their use for projects such as pothole filling, pavement testing, crack sealing, bridge and guide rail repairs, and even accident scene investigations.

Photos of the mobile work zone barrier system in action can be found here.

WebSafety, Inc. has announced the release of a mobile application they call CellSafety, which should go a long way toward making the roadways safer for everyone.  You see, this particular application actually disables texting and emailing from a moving vehicle.

The company recently increased the application’s compatibility to more than 60 smart phones in the United States and has now expanded CellSafety so that it works on the Bell Mobility and Telus networks in Canada.

CellSafety uses proprietary technology to detect when a vehicle is moving at speeds of more than 10 mph and then prohibits the driver from sending or reading text and email messages, or even using the phone’s web browser.

Texting and emailing while driving is considered one of the most dangerous distractions facing drivers today, and new laws have been passed all over as a response to this hazard. More than 30 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces now have laws to prevent distracted driving, and President Obama signed an Executive Order banning federal employees from texting while operating government vehicles. WebSafety developed CellSafety as a solution to the problem.

The CellSafety mobile application is available starting at $9.99 per month, with substantial discounts available for commercial and governmental accounts, and can be purchased by visiting www.mywebsafety.com.

Ontario inspected a bunch of trucks on their busiest highways between 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 18 and 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 19, 2010 and, in the process, they caught a lot of potentially dangerous drivers.

Operation Corridor is an annual highway safety initiative that focuses on high police visibility, enforcement and education opportunities on all major provincial highways. It targets aggressive commercial vehicle drivers and/or unsafe commercial vehicles.

The operation is conducted by Ontario Provincial Police, as well as inspectors from the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of the Environment. During the operation, they stopped and checked 1,431 commercial vehicles and laid 355 commercial motor vehicle-related charges.  In addition, 31 commercial vehicles were taken out of service due to various equipment issues or hours of service violations.

The charges laid during Operation Corridor included 131 charges for speeding; 10 charges for following too closely; 17 charges for not wearing a seatbelt; 43 charges for “other” hazardous moving violations; 82 equipment-related violations; and three charges for being impaired behind the wheel.

During last year’s blitz, they stopped 1,532 vehicles and laid 285 charges.

Last weekend a large number of bad drivers got behind the wheel, and proceeded to smack into guardrails, run into ditches, and smash into other vehicles, because they were being distracted by cell phones and other gadgets. The distractions caused them to fail to stay in their lanes, maintain their speed, and overall, they were pretty reckless.

Thankfully for everyone, these particular drivers were at an Alberta shopping mall, and were merely operating a driving simulator developed by the Insurance Bureau of Canada to demonstrate the risks of distracted driving, so the vehicles were virtual.  But their inability to drive safely surprised a number of them, and encouraged support for a new law that would ban the use of digital devices while driving.

Alberta is one of just two provinces without such a law, but legislation has been introduced that could change that status by this time next year.

Bill 16, which the provincial government introduced in April, which would outlaw the use of phones, music players and most other digital devices while driving, with hands-free devices excluded. The law would also make it illegal to tend to other tasks, such as personal grooming and writing on notepads, while operating a vehicle. The proposed penalty for a violation is a $172 fine.

According to the Transportation Ministry, the bill is scheduled to be debated when the legislature resumes sitting in October. If passed, the law would likely go into effect in 2011.

Based on a survey prepared for the Alberta Motor Association this past spring, fully 76% of Albertans would support such a ban. The survey also found that 61% of respondents felt the law should include hands-free devices.

Who could ever have imagined that breaking wind could make the roads safer and the air cleaner?  That’s certainly the hope of the Ontario provincial government.

It is a fact that one of the great difficulties with clearing highways during winter is having to deal with blowing and drifting snow. It’s not unusual for snowplow operators to clear a section of road, only to have to do so again because of snow that has drifted from a nearby field.

To combat this problem, Ontario has developed a special project in the West region to build partnerships with farming agencies and groups to encourage the planting of farm windbreaks, which are lines of trees designed to block drifting snow from blowing onto the highway. But it is also hoped that the project, which is supported in part by the Ontario Public Service Innovation Fund, will also provide environmental benefits.

The effects of blowing and drifting snow accounts for as much as 30% of plowing, salting and sanding costs,  which comes to about $3,000 per two-lane kilometre per year. Combined with the province’s purchase of state-of-the-art, efficient snow removal equipment and technology, it is hoped that the planting of farm windbreaks will result in significant cost savings.

But the benefit is not just about winter highway maintenance. While last winter saw major reductions in snow removal costs in areas where windbreaks already existed, area farmers who plant windbreaks see crop yields increase by 5-25% on average. The windbreaks reduce soil erosion, provide wildlife habitat, improve air quality, and have a cooling effect on climate.

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To help raise awareness, provincial environmental officials launched an advertisement campaign last year designed to attract the attention of farmers, including a brochure featuring the slogan “Break Wind, Make Money” that is currently being distributed at farm shows, grower meetings, conferences and workshops throughout Ontario. .

The Farm Windbreaks project is intended to promote sustainability, reducing the effects of climate change and to reduce the environmental contamination by road chemicals, as well as improve road and transportation safety.

So go ahead, break wind, and keep the roads clear.

Ontario courts continue to slam companies with huge fines for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Wal-Mart Canada Corp., for example, was hit with two fines totaling $120,000 in less than a month; a $45,000 fine on June 23 and a $75,000 fine on July 16.

The $45,000 fine resulted from an incident that occurred on September 27, 2008. A worker was operating a forklift outside a Wal-Mart store in Barrie, to place skids of bottled water near the main entrance. While doing so, the forklift struck and injured a customer’s feet.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the worker did not have full view of the forklift path of travel and its load.

In that case, the company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the operator of material handling equipment has a full view of the intended path of travel of the equipment or its load, and to failing to make sure material handling equipment is only operated as directed by a competent signaler who is stationed in full view of the operator with a full view of the intended path of travel of the vehicle and its load.

The $75,000 fine resulted from an incident that occurred on January 19, 2009, when a worker employed by a Wal-Mart store in Welland climbed a ladder to get five boxes of toys from a shelf. As the worker began to climb back down with the boxes held in one arm, he missed a step at the bottom of the ladder and fell, injuring his arm.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the worker carried the boxes in such a way that his or her safety was endangered by not keeping the required level of contact with the ladder.

Wal-Mart Canada Corp. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that materials required to be lifted, carried or moved were lifted, carried or moved in a way that did not endanger the safety of any worker.

Also on July 16, Concord-based Welded Tube of Canada was fined $140,000 for an incident that occurred on July 31, 2008, in which a worker was injured as he prepared a two-and-a-half ton bundle of steel tubes and sent them down a conveyor to be processed for shipping. That worker and a co-worker then began to make a mechanical adjustment in the path of the conveyor. The bundle of tubes needed to be rearranged, so it was sent back on the same conveyor, where it struck the worker and injured his leg.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the conveyor was not protected by a guard to prevent access to the path of travel while it was in motion.

Welded Tube of Canada pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a machine with moving parts that may endanger a worker is equipped with a guard or other device which prevents access to the moving parts.

And on July 9, 2010, grocery store operator Metro Ontario Inc. was fined $100,000 for an incident that occurred on January 18, 2009. A worker at the company’s North Bay location was using a band saw to cut beef in the meat department, when his hand slipped, and the saw’s blade partially amputated some of his fingers.

That Ministry of Labour investigation found that the machine’s blade was improperly guarded, and Metro Ontario Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the saw was equipped with a guard that prevented access to its moving blade.

In addition to the huge fines levied in the cases above, in each case the court imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act, which is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

The final results for Roadcheck 2010, the annual North American roadside safety inspection blitz, were roughly the same as those of Roadcheck 2009, showing that 80% of commercial vehicles inspected successfully passed.

The annual event, which was conducted by enforcement agencies in Canada, the US and Mexico from June 8-10, is coordinated each year by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) in partnership with CCMTA member-jurisdictions.

While the average vehicle out-of-service rate of 20.0% is slightly higher than the 17.8% recorded last year, event organizers say this year’s figure continues an overall downward trend in the national OOS rate over the past several years. The average Canadian vehicle out-of-service rate in 2010 was just slightly higher than the North American average at 20.3%.

Inspections were conducted at 158 sites across Canada, covering all jurisdictions. Those vehicles without a valid inspection decal  were subjected to the most rigorous CVSA on-road inspection procedures. Overall, over three days, 7,311 vehicles and drivers underwent full inspections for mechanical and driver fitness, with 5,848 vehicles and 7,112 drivers passing. In all, 1,434 trucks, 29 passenger-carrying vehicles and 199 drivers were put out of service for various safety defects and violations, ranging from simple infractions such as a rear signal light not working to dangerous infractions, such as steering or brake problems. Other defects cited included wheels, tires, frame and load security. Often, drivers were able to make the necessary adjustments on site, and be re-inspected, passed and sent on their way.  In addition, 2.7% of drivers were placed out of service for logbook, driver qualification or paperwork problems, which actually represented a slight improvement over past figures.

Inspectors issued 6,911 new decals to individual trucks, trailers and passenger-carrying vehicles across Canada. The decals signify CVSA’s highest degree of safety and mechanical fitness.

Since brake-related defects continue to account for close to half of all out-of-service violations, CVSA Region V officials are encouraging governments, industry associations and individual carriers and drivers to take an active part in the upcoming 2010 Brake Safety Week Sept. 12-18.

Police in Lambton, Ontario stopped a truck driver at around 11:30 a.m. July 7 after a passing motorist reported that the tractor-trailer was weaving “all over the road,” according to a statement by the Ontario Provincial Police.

What police found after they stopped the 58-year-old trucker from Kitchener was one for the books. Apparently, the reason the  truck was weaving because the man was trying to perform self-dentistry, attempting to pull an aching tooth.

To accomplish this tooth-pulling feat, he had tied one end of the string to his tooth, and another to the roof of the truck’s cab. According to police, he was waiting for “one good bump” to yank the tooth out of his mouth.

Needless to say, police cited the truck driver for careless driving.

By the way, his little dentistry experiment apparently worked. When police stopped him, the string and his bloody tooth laid next to him on his seat.

The numbers tell the story.

According to a Workers Compensation Board (WCB) report published in 1999, a total of 1,482 work related deaths were reported over a 10 year period. Of those, 519, or 35%, were the result of industrial vehicle accidents. Just as troubling was the WCB calculation that for every work fatality, there were 29 injuries. Statistics also show that every fatality costs an insurance company from $2 to $5 million. Since every extra dollar spent by an insurance company gets passed on as part of a client company’s premiums, fewer fatalities saves everyone money.

It was statistics like those above that motivated Pro-active Safety Systems Technology Inc. (PSST) to develop a truly revolutionary heavy equipment safety system to reverse the numbers and make workers safer.

In 2006, industrial electricians Rick Shervey and John DaSilva heard about a couple of accidents at nearby companies involving loaders within the space of a month, and realized just how ineffective the warning systems were. So, they set about to build a new warning system that would properly alert people when they were in the path of a moving piece of equipment and stop it in the event of an imminent disaster.

The idea they came up with is a system in which every piece of equipment is fitted with a detector, and every worker wears a vest with a RFID (radio frequency identification) tag embedded or attached.  An antenna broadcasts at a 30º angle to the front and back of the machine, and as it moves around, it senses every worker within the critical area, and sends a signal to the unit on the vest. If a worker enters the zone, the machine activates a two-stage warning light system and actually activates the brake.  The range is accurate from 70 cm to 400 m, but the company has targeted the zero to five-meter range as the critical zone for preventing accidents.

This potential benefits from this type of safety system are so great that the National Research Council Canada has provided the company with research-specific grants; and the WorkSafeBC Research Secretariat has provided two Innovation at Work grants; $46,000 in 2007 and $100,000 in 2008. Not only that, but this past January, the device received the Northern British Columbia Business and Technology’s Workplace Health and Safety Award.

And the product has thus far only been used in 22 test cases thus far. The company is preparing to make its first production units available by January 2011. You can read more about this at the PSST website.