Road Safety 101 for Small Businesses

SkillCheck is a complete assessment tool with a scoring form, guidance, and examples on how to observe and evaluate driver behaviours. It includes a video demonstrating the process from start to finish. If you want to build your assessment skills, register for one of our SkillCheck workshops.

Yes. Employer responsibilities to ensure employee safety apply whether the employee is driving their own vehicle or an employer-owned vehicle for work. Regular vehicle inspections are required under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. It’s up to employers to make sure they get done.

Typically, employers ask the driver to do the inspections. Whoever does them, be sure the inspections are documented and keep a copy. They are evidence of your due diligence. More importantly, inspections help you identify and address mechanical defects before they can contribute to a crash. Use our downloadable inspection form and view a ”how-to” video for vehicle inspections.

The goal is to prevent crashes. That means making road safety part of your day-to-day operations. Reviewing driver abstracts tells drivers their safety matters when they drive for work. Reviewing your safe driving policies and procedures with them helps clarify how your organization expects them to drive. Training is a big part of making sure employees exhibit the driving behaviours you expect.

As important as those steps are, there are other steps you should include to support continued safe performance. These include thorough driver orientation, regular tailgate meetings to keep road safety front of mind, annual risk assessments that include steps to reduce driving-related risks, and effective supervision.

The Motor Vehicle Act and its Regulations explain requirements for vehicles operated on BC roads. Those laws cover lights, horns, brakes, windshields, seatbelts and more. And they apply whether the vehicle is being used for work or for pleasure, and whether the vehicle is owned by an employee or their employer.

The Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation identify safety requirements employers, supervisors, and workers must meet. Learn more by downloading our Employer Occupational Road Safety Responsibilities Guide.

Drivers are responsible for any fines and penalty points they receive while they are driving. Employers should certainly be interested if those violations occur. Too many penalty points could lead to a driver having their licence suspended, leaving them unable to drive on the job.

Employers aren’t directly accountable for violations. But if there’s a crash, employers usually deal with lost production, repair costs, lost reputation and other costs. If the employee has a history of driving violations and causes a crash, a third party might initiate legal action against the driver and the employer.

Always talk with an insurance provider to get guidance on what coverages work best for you or your organization.