Date of incident: September 2020
Notice of incident number: 2020175270020
Employer: Construction labour supply firm

Incident summary
At a water main construction site, two workers were directing pedestrian and cyclist traffic. Pedestrians and cyclists were permitted to travel through the site on the sidewalk; however, cyclists were required to dismount and walk their bikes. These rules were posted at the sidewalk access points adjacent to the construction zone. A cyclist (member of the public) ignored the rules, then assaulted one of the workers with a weapon. The worker sustained serious injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Worker was assaulted by hostile cyclist. The cyclist had ignored signage and disobeyed the directions of a traffic control person at the south end of the site, riding directly through the work zone instead of dismounting and walking their bike through it. As the cyclist exited the north end of the construction zone, another traffic control person was positioned in the cyclist’s path. That worker instinctively threw out their arms, and one of the cyclist’s arms collided with one of the worker’s arms. The cyclist threw down their bicycle, approached the worker, and assaulted them with a weapon. The WorkSafeBC investigative team determined that this incident was a result of a random act of violence and would have been difficult to predict and prevent.

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