Driving & Shorter Days
Daylight doesn't fade out gradually enough to notice. One week the drive home is full sun — the next it's dark by the time the truck's loaded, and nobody's driving like it. A free talk from Blue Crane Works in Hamilton, Ontario, with a printable sign-in sheet.
How to run it
Read it through once, then talk it — don't recite it. Five minutes at the start of the shift, crew standing where the work happens. Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act requires every employer to provide information, instruction and supervision to protect workers (s. 25(2)(a)). A talk like this, led by a supervisor or someone they trust, is one way to do it, and the sign-in sheet is what proves it happened.
Talk through these points
- Pre-trip just got more important. A headlight that's been out for two weeks didn't matter in July — it matters now. Walk around the truck and actually look, don't just listen for the beep.
- Deer move more in the fall, and they move at dawn and dusk — which is exactly when the crew's driving now. Slow down on the rural stretches between sites, especially the first and last run of the day.
- Low morning and evening sun is its own hazard on the commute — visor down doesn't mean you can see the vehicle that just stopped ahead of you. Back off the following distance.
- If the crew's still wrapping up after dark, a spotter in dark coveralls is invisible from the cab. Hi-vis and a flashlight stop being optional once the sun's down by five.
- The first cold snap shows up weeks before anyone's thinking about winter. A wet morning that was just wet last month can be black ice by late October — treat it that way before you've confirmed otherwise.
- The start- and end-of-shift walk-around doesn't get skipped because it's dark now. Cords, offcuts and open holes don't move just because you can't see them as well.
Ask the crew
- Whose headlights or running lights are we not sure about?
- What's the plan if the crew's still on site after dark this week?
- Who's driving the longest stretch home, and are they doing it on no sleep?
The answers are the real talk. If a question lands on a live hazard, write it down and assign it a name and a date.
Paper it
A talk without a record didn't happen, as far as anyone who asks is concerned. Print these free:
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