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Purpose
1. To outline procedures to be followed when the Driver Training Coordinator, Risk Manager and or Divisional Supervisor meet in the event of an accident/ incident to review the circumstances of the accident/incident. This meeting must take place promptly following the occurrence of the accident/incident. Details of the accident or incident requires discussion in order to decide the appropriate interview process for City drivers involved in such automobile accidents or near miss incidents.
2. Where an employee sustains an injury a copy of the A/I report is to be forwarded to the Disability Case Manager. If the claim is going to be handled by WHSCC, a copy must be immediately forwarded to their office.
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Policy Statement
Vehicle Accident Review Third Party at Fault
Purpose:
All Accidents are reviewed in accordance with our Vehicle Accident/Incident Review Policy. Those which indicate clearly that the third party is at fault, normally will not require a personal interview with the City driver unless there are special circumstances indicating that the accident could have been avoided or where the driver has been involved in a previous accident(s) and this new accident creates concern.
Policy Statement
Vehicle Accident Review with Divisional Supervisor
Purpose:
To determine the procedure and type of interview required. This will depend on the facts and details collected during the accident/incident review process by the Driver Education Coordinator, Risk Manager and or Divisional Supervisor.
Responsibilities:
Educational Regular Driver Interviews
These interviews are conducted when the details of the accident/incident do not give rise to concern. These interviews will be conducted solely by the Driver Education Coordinator and the Risk Manager. More detailed information may be collected during this interview process as to the causes and contributing factors of the vehicle accident/incident with a view to identifying areas of improvement, preventing future accidents, mitigating losses, and developing a safer environment for employees and the public alike. A letter outlining the findings of the interview will be written to the driver. In remote situations, during this interview process, should new information of concern be discovered, further discussion with management will be required to decide whether an interview for possible disciplinary action may need to be arranged. In such cases, the driver will be advised, that the Driver Education Coordinator and Risk Manager will be meeting with management to discuss whether a second interview may be required. A letter to the driver will follow the meeting with management. This letter will advise whether the interview process is complete and if so the findings of the interview will be stated, or whether a second interview is needed and with whom.
Driver Interview for Possible Disciplinary Action
This will require a procedure that needs to be adhered to as follows:
• The Driver Education Coordinator and or Risk Manager will meet with the City Driver’s Supervisor and or Manager to discuss the details of the accident and decide which of the following interview processes will be required:
1. A Regular Driver Interview.
2. A Driver Interview for Possible Disciplinary Action.
3. A Driver Interview for Definite Disciplinary Action
• If a Regular Driver Interview is decided, refer to the procedure as outlined above.
• If a Driver Interview for Possible or Definite Disciplinary Action is decided, the attendees at the interview will consist of:
1. The City Driver.
2. A Union Representative.
3. The City Driver’s Supervisor and or Manager.
4. The Risk Manager.
Following the interview, if it is decided that disciplinary action is warranted, the City Driver’s Supervisor and or Manager (or Operations Assistant) will issue a Disciplinary Letter to the driver. The Manager (or Operations Assistant) shall consult with the Human Resource Department as may be required to determine the appropriate action and provide a copy of the disciplinary letter to Human Resources.
Vehicle Accident Review Committee
Purpose:
To determine the causes and contributing factors of all vehicle accidents and incidents with a view to identifying areas of improvement, preventing future accidents, mitigating losses, and developing a safer environment for employees and the public alike.
Responsibilities:
- To meet at least quarterly to discuss trends, problems, and committee procedure.
- To oversee Vehicle Investigation Panels (VIP) decisions on action.
- As needed make recommendations to the Finance and Administration Committee and Council.
- To advise departments about trends and solutions.
- To report as needed to the Finance and Administration Committee on the number and types of vehicle accidents, trends, initiatives, and any other issues that arise.
Members:
Risk Manager (Chair).
Manager - Fleet Services.
Manager - Streets and Parks.
Manager - Employee Wellness (or designate).
Fire Dept.- Mechanical Instructor.
Driver Education Coordinator.
Union Representatives.
Process:
1. The Vehicle Accident Review Committee will meet at least quarterly to review and take necessary action related to all accidents/incidents since the last meeting.
2. The purpose of the reviews and meetings are to:
a) Look for trends.
b) Recommend new or revised policies and procedures to prevent future accidents/incidents.
c) Compile statistics.
d) Set standards for accident investigation and review.
e) Prepare reports to Council as needed via the Finance/Administration Committee.
f) Deal with any other related business.
3. The committee meetings must have full attendance by all regular members or their designated alternates.
4. The Committee Secretary is a recording secretary designated by the City Clerk .
5. All Committee meeting minutes must be retained for a period of two calendar years.
6. The Committee constantly explore ways to improve the City’s loss experience.
7. The Committee is to establish guidelines and or review commendation and discipline for employees involved in vehicle accidents and incidents, to ensure consistency and fairness. The degree of commendation or discipline should commensurate with the severity of the potential consequences of the employee’s actions, not the actual outcome.
Vehicle Accident Investigation Panel
Purpose:
Investigate accidents and incidents to determine the causes and contributing factors.
Responsibilities:
1. To meet as required to examine all the relevant evidence of vehicle accidents and incidents to determine causes and contributing factors determined by the Risk Manager, Driver Trainer and or the Divisional Manager are in order.
2. To report promptly to the Accident Review Committee as to the causes and contributing factors of all accidents.
Members:
Risk Manager (Chair).
Driver Education Coordinator.
Manager – Fleet Services.
Manager- Street and Parks.
Process:
1. All vehicle accidents and incidents are to be reported immediately by the employee(s) involved, to their supervisor(or other manager if their supervisor is not immediately available) who in turn are to notify the Fleet Services Claims Clerks.
2. The Fleet Services Claims Clerks are to immediately attend the scene, while it is undisturbed and the involved parties are still present.
3. The Claims Clerks are to get photographs of the scene, fill out all of the information in the vehicle Accident Report Form, and where possible obtain written and signed statements of all City employees involved.
4. All involved employees are to give a written statement of what they did and saw to the Claims Clerks as soon as practicable.
5. Once all the data is compiled the Claims Clerks are to e-mail a scanned copy of the Accident Report form and any other documents including additional statements to the Supervisor Occupational Health and Safety, Manager of Employee Wellness, the Manager of Fleet Services, the Manager of Streets and Parks, the Risk Manager, the Senior Claims Officer and the Driver Education Coordinator.
6. The Risk Manager and Driver Education Coordinator will collect all accident and incident reports for review with the Divisional Manager. Once reviewed with the Divisional Manager, it will be determined which accidents/incidents require review with the Risk Manager, Driver Education Coordinator and or Divisional Manager. Driver Interviews must be conducted promptly after the accident. The driver’s statement and any other data about the accident/incident will be reviewed with the driver and additional questions may be asked of the driver or of other witnesses. These meetings are to ensure that there are no misunderstandings of the facts and to give the driver an opportunity to confirm , refute, or justify other evidence that may have been collected. After these interviews are concluded all accidents/ incidents will be reviewed further with the Vehicle Investigation Panel.
7. All accident and incident actions taken by the Risk Manager, Driver Education Coordinator and or Divisional Manager will be reviewed by the Vehicle Investigation Panel in a meeting scheduled as soon as possible after driver interviews have concluded. This meeting will be for the purpose of further review and fact finding. The operator’s statement and any other data about the accident/incident will be reviewed further with the Vehicle Investigation Panel.
8. Time is of the essence in the collection of data, meeting with the employee(s), and making a determination of causes and contributing factors in order to comply with the time limits in the appropriate collective agreement.
IMPORTANT DISCIPLINE TIME FRAMES TO REMEMBER:
• 21 calendar days to deal with a 569 employee.
• 20 working days to deal with a 1289 employee.
• 14 days from the date of the accident for firefighters; we have a duty to advise the employee that they are under investigation or subject to disciplinary action.
• 5 calendar days to deal with a NAPE 7808 employee.
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Therefore, after reviewing all of the data and evidence collected at the initial review with the driver, the Driver Training Coordinator, Risk Manager and or the Divisional Manager will agree whether to make a written notation of the accident in either a “ No Action” letter format or “ A Follow Up Pending Driver Interview” letter format. Both letter formats will contain the finding of the causes and contributing factors. The letter will be forwarded to the employee(s) involved as soon as practical with a copy to his or her Divisional Manager and, with a copy to the Accident Review Committee.
9. If it is the finding of the Vehicle Investigation Panel that employee error, lapse of judgment, and or negligence is of a very serious nature that caused or contributed to the accident then all such matters will be brought to the attention of the Accident Review Committee. If the Accident Review Committee agrees with the seriousness of the facts collected, then the Accident Review Committee may make appropriate recommendations to the Divisional Manager of the employee involved.
10. The Panel is to meet, at least monthly (except during the summer) to discuss all reports since the last panel meeting.
11. The Panel is to verify whether they are in agreement that the causes and contributing factors determined by the Risk Manager, Driver Education Coordinator and or Divisional Manager for each accident/incident are in order.
12. The Panel is to report quarterly to the Vehicle Accident Review Committee in the form of a summary of all reported vehicle accident/incidents, the causes and contributing factors, and any action taken. This report will also include recommendations on ways to prevent future occurrences.
Definitions
Accident an event that results in harm to people, damage to property or equipment, or loss of process or productivity.
Incident an event which, under slightly different circumstances, could have resulted in harm to people, damage to property or equipment, or loss of process or productivity.
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Application
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Responsibilities
Risk Manager, all employees.
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Monitoring and Contravention
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Approvals
Finance and Administration Standing Committee report - June 17, 2003; Regular Meeting of Council - June 24, 2003; Finance and Administration Standing Committee report - January 23, 2007; Regular Meeting of Council - February 5, 2007.
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Review Period
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