The Center was working with Health and Safety Ontario/Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (HSO-WSPS) in a multi-year effort to reduce motor vehicle incidents in Ontario using the Positive Community Norms framework. This project focused on the workplace and sought to reduce six risky driving behaviors: not wearing a seatbelt, texting while driving, using a cell phone while driving, driving while fatigued or sick, driving aggressively or speeding, and driving after drinking any alcohol.
The project was led by a strong, local coalition (The Motor Vehicle Safety Action Committee) and engaged several businesses in a pilot project. The strategy was to foster a workplace culture that supported bystander engagement so that employees were more likely to speak up and address unsafe behaviors by their coworkers. An initial baseline survey (based on the theory of planned behavior) had been completed and used to inform the development of workplace media to correct misperceived norms.
The team was implementing these materials on a pilot basis. Workplaces with multiple sites had some sites assigned as “intervention” sites and some assigned as “control” sites to allow for a more rigorous evaluation. The local coalition was interested in expanding the strategy beyond the workplaces in the future.
To learn more about this project, please visit https://www.wsps.ca/Information-Resources/Articles/Unleash-the-potential-of-your-employees.aspx.