Although the driver of a heavy vehicle has the responsibility to attach, his employer can also play a key role in promoting the wearing of seat belts in his company.
When a heavy vehicle driver does not wear his belt, in addition to putting his own safety at risk, he also exposes the owner and operator to certain consequences that can be avoided!

CONSEQUENCES OF AN ACCIDENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
The death of an employee or the injuries sustained by one of your drivers during an accident can have significant consequences for your company. Here are some examples :
• additional hours required by other drivers to replace an absent resource;
• loss of hard-to-replace expertise and recruitment of new hard-working people in times of labor shortages;
• loss of productivity;
• possible delay in operations;
• legal fees;
• possible increase in contribution rates at CNESST;
• possible increase of your insurance premium;
• loss of reputation and contracts for the company.

SANCTIONS
Article 396 of the Highway Safety Code provides:

"396. Every person, except a child referred to in section 397, shall wear correctly the seat belt which is equipped with the seat that he occupies in a moving road vehicle.
However, the first paragraph does not apply to:
(1) a driver performing a reversing maneuver;
(2) the driver of a taxi who, in the performance of his duties, drives a numbered public road whose speed limit is established by a municipality or which circulates on an unnumbered public road;
(3) to a person exempted from wearing seat-belts or authorized to wear it partially by the Société in accordance with article 398 of this Code;
(4) to a person occupying the seat of a passenger in a cellular van.
In addition to public roads, this article applies to roads that are under the administration of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife or maintained by it. "
The driver who contravenes this article is liable to a fine of $ 200 to $ 300 in addition to the loss of 3 demerit points on his record. This offense is also weighted at 3 points in the "Security of Operations" behavior area of ​​his CVL record.
The owner and operator, for his part, may have his EPVL file tainted by 3 points in the "Safety of Operations" behavior zone.

PREVENTION: THE SOLUTION!
Although you can not control all the hazards on the road, as an employer, you can promote safe driving and adopt a prevention program to help increase the rate of wear of the safety belt. safety in your drivers. In addition to protecting your staff, you help improve your business balance sheet.
Here are some solutions:
• Make safety and the wearing of mandatory seatbelt a priority within the company.
• Designate a person responsible for the creation and implementation of a seat belt awareness program.
• Educate drivers and shed light on the myths surrounding the wearing of the belt.
• Incorporate road safety into meetings, awareness sessions, a driver's guide or memos.
• Engage staff members by enabling them to take an active role in the company's security decisions.
• Have an application form signed for the mandatory use of the seatbelt.
• Consider introducing seatbelt safety controls at the entrance or exit of offices to encourage drivers to comply with the policy.
• Evaluate the means put in place in the prevention program to determine its effectiveness.

HIGH VISIBILITY BELT - AN OPTION!
The replacement of belts with high-visibility belts in your vehicles reinforces the implementation of your prevention program and thus alert the driver to the risk of being intercepted and to receive a statement of offense if he does not wear his belt. With its vivid color, the high visibility belt installed inside the vehicle also becomes a form of reminder for the driver to attach at all times.
If you have any questions about this, please contact the Legal Services Branch at (418) 476-8181 ext. 214 or juridique@federationautobus.com