The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) have funded an effort to reduce motor vehicle incidents through Health & Safety Ontario (HSO). Health & Safety Ontario, in collaboration with a stakeholder driven Motor Vehicle Safety Action Committee (MVS AC), is partnering with Montana State University’s Center for Health and Safety Culture to support the research and development of this strategy.

At the end of the three-day Motor Vehicle Safety Institute (MVSI), hosted by HSO in June 2011, participants committed to applying the Positive Community Norms (PCN) model to motor vehicle safety. Since then, the MVS AC has been working to develop a pilot project entitled, "Engaging Bystanders in the Workplace to Grow Positive Community Norms", to engage everyone in the workplace to reduce risky driving behaviours and promote protective practices.

Health & Safety Ontario is looking to recruit a limited number of workplaces - that have more than one location, and workers that driver regularly - to participate in this exciting pilot. This project will focus on developing a broad, “umbrella” message frame to communicate the overarching strategy and develop an initial intervention toolkit focused on workplaces. Initially, the following behaviours will be the primary focus of the effort:

• seat belt usage
• reading or sending text messages while driving
• using a cell phone while driving (with or without hands-free technology)
• driving when fatigued, excessively tired, or ill
• driving aggressively (following other vehicles closely, changing lanes excessively, cutting off other drivers, speeding)
• driving after drinking alcohol

If you are interested in participating, please take this 5-minute online survey so that we can better understand your organization and how it is structured. We hope to select and confirm workplaces for participation in February, and conduct the first survey shortly after.  For more information on the pilot project and participation requirements,  review the two-page summary "Engaging Bystanders in the Workplace to Grow Positive Community Norms".  If you have questions on the project, please contact Kiran Kapoor at kiran.kapoor@wsps.ca.