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Additional resources
- News release
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- Introduction to Safe Practices on Resource Roads (PDF 633kb)
- Profile: Craig Payne (PDF 71kb)
- Incident Types on Resource Roads (PDF 212kb)
British Columbia has over 400,000 kilometers of resource roads, most of which are on Crown or public land. These roads are used by industries such as forestry, oil and gas, and mining as well as the public for access to recreational areas. Industrial expansion and lack of understanding about safety responsibilities on these resource roads has increased the risk of serious injuries and fatalities to workers.
Managing safety on road systems is complex. It requires a good understanding of safety fundamentals and regulatory requirements as these roads are workplaces for workers such as logging truck drivers or industry service providers.
Committed to promoting safe workplaces and reducing risk to workers, WorkSafeBC leads the demonstration project to provide two working examples of how safety can be managed effectively on resource road systems.
One project area will be on a network of roads in the Prince George Forest District where industrial activity is primarily forestry-based. The other project area is near Fort St. John (southwest of Chetwynd) where the primary industry is oil and gas.
In each demonstration region, the Road Safety Management Group (RSMG) – a committee of road owners, road licensees, and WorkSafeBC – will test and evaluate strategies to develop a resource road management system and create a framework outlining how stakeholder health and safety responsibilities can be met.
The demonstration project will:
- Clarify health and safety responsibilities of owners, prime contractors, employers, and workers/drivers applicable to resource road systems
- Identify safety concerns/issues about road use, design, construction, and maintenance
- Establish road safety groups to address management and usage
- Address report recommendations from the Auditor General and Forest Safety Ombudsman
- Develop systems/approaches to safely manage and coordinate road use
- Demonstrate practical approaches to communicate safety information
- Explore partnerships that can make resource roads safer
- Examine the effectiveness of new technologies, methods, and tools that lead to the reduction of serious injuries and fatalities
The final stage of the project will include preparing a report that gathers the project findings and evaluates the systems or approaches demonstrated in the project. The final report will also contain concerns and recommendations on changes that may be necessary to improve road safety.