<\/div>\n
Abstract:<\/h2>\n
CONTEXT
\nResearch on the prevalence of impaired driving for work-related drivers is extremely limited. In British Columbia (BC),
\nthe prevalence of occupational motor vehicle incidents or fatalities as a result of impairment is unclear due to data
\ncollection inconsistencies, privacy concerns and complexities among various legal entities. Data drawn from other
\njurisdictions and studies on truck drivers however, demonstrates that work-related driver impairment is a serious
\nproblem for society.<\/p>\n
Literature reveals a strong link between alcohol and drug use and accident risk (Drummer et al., 2003; Swann et al.,
\n2002). Research by Haworth et al. (2002) indicates that over the period from 1993 to 1998, 17% of all fatal crashes
\nin Canada were associated with heavy vehicles. In a study by Boufous et al. (2009), fatigue was reported in 20% of
\nwork-related traffic crashes and 28% of fatalities involving heavy truck drivers in Australia. In the United States,
\nalcohol is a contributing factor in 39% of all work-related motor vehicle crashes (OSHA, 2014).
\nFurthermore, work-related driver impairment is a complex issue, governed by multiple provincial and federal laws,
\nregulations and legal bodies. In BC, there are no laws or regulations specifically targeting \u201coccupational driver
\nimpairment\u201d and is addressed by a myriad of provincial and federal laws and regulations. Its multidimensional nature
\nmakes it challenging for work-related drivers to navigate, and difficult for employers to manage. Considering the lack
\nof research on occupational driver impairment and its devastating impact, understanding the ways in which
\nemployers understand this problem and exploring public policies to address this issue, are essential for the
\nprevention of public injury and death on the road.<\/p>\n
OBJECTIVES
\nThis research is in collaboration with WorkSafeBC, and aims to investigate the knowledge, perceptions and attitudes
\namongst employers in BC about occupational driver impairment in the workplace. The findings will serve to inform
\npolicy development.<\/p>\n
This project explores the following questions:
\n1. How do employers understand legal responsibilities relating to occupational driver impairment in BC?
\n2. What are employers\u2019 knowledge and attitude towards factors that impair driving, which include drugs,
\nalcohol, fatigue and medical conditions?
\n3. To what extent do employers perceive occupational driver impairment as an issue in BC workplaces or their
\nworkplaces?
\n4. What tools and resources do employers presently have in place to address occupational driver impairment?<\/p>\n
TARGET GROUP
\nPROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANT INFORMATION
\nThe participants of this study are employers. \u201cEmployers\u201d are defined as individuals from organizations who have
\ndirect influence on work practices and who employ work-related drivers. These participants should hold roles
\nincluding, but not limited to, supervisor, foreman, forewoman, manager, owner, lead hands, supervisors.<\/p>\n
ACTIVITY(IES)
\nI will be conducting a survey with a stratified random sample of over 6,000 employers in BC, and interviewing 5
\nemployers to gain deeper insight on any issues identified in the survey. The survey data will be analyzed statistically
\nand the interviews will be analyzed using thematic analysis. Both datasets will be used to develop and evaluate
\npolicy.<\/p>\n
DELIVERABLES
\nThe research will be completed in April 2015 and will be presented once completed. The data generated from the
\nsurvey and interviews will: (1) serve to evaluate the effectiveness of current legal instruments, (2) identify employer
\nknowledge and attitudes and (3) foster public and workplace health and safety by informing policy options that will be
\ncomprehensively analyzed and evaluated. Policy recommendations developed will provide useful guidance that
\noccupational health and safety bodies such as WorkSafeBC could adopt to address work-related driver impairment
\nand enhance road safety.<\/p>\n
Works Cited
\nBoufous, Soufiane, and Ann Williamson. 'Factors Affecting the Severity of Work Related Traffic Crashes in Drivers
\nReceiving a Worker's Compensation Claim.' Accident Analysis & Prevention 41.3 (2009): 467-73. Web.
\nDrummer, Olaf H., Jim Gerostamoulos, Helen Batziris, Mark Chu, John Caplehorn, Michael D. Robertson, and Philip
\nSwann. 'The Involvement of Drugs in Drivers of Motor Vehicles Killed in Australian Road Traffic Crashes.' Accident
\nAnalysis & Prevention 36.2 (2004): 239-48. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
\n'Guidelines for Employers to Reduce Motor Vehicle Crashes.' Guidelines for Employers to Reduce Motor Vehicle
\nCrashes. US Department of Labor, n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2014.
\nHaworth, N. Vulcan, P. Sweatman, P. (March 2002). \u2018Truck Safety Benchmarking Study\u2019, National Road Transport
\nCommission, Melbourne, Australia.
\nSwann, Phillip. 'The Major Issues of Drugs, Alcohol and Fatigue in Heavy Vehicle Safety.' National Heavy Vehicle
\nSafety Seminar (2002): 69-72. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.<\/p>\n
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jennifer Diep<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[100,347],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2015-carsp-conference-acpser-ottawa","category-policy-and-practice"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18671,"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18611\/revisions\/18671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carsp.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}