Winter Driving Safety for Workers: What Canadian Employers Should Do

Why Winter Driving Is a Serious Workplace Hazard

Driving is easy to overlook because it feels routine. Yet WorkSafeBC identifies motor vehicle incidents as a leading cause of worker fatalities in British Columbia, and Road Safety at Work reports that nearly 40 per cent of work-related crashes in BC that cause injury and time off the job happen between November and February.

You can see the pattern in workplaces across the country. A home care nurse in rural Nova Scotia drives between clients on unplowed back roads. A service technician in Saskatchewan covers hundreds of kilometres a week between farm sites. A field crew in northern Alberta leaves camp before sunrise and returns after dark. None of them think of themselves as professional drivers, but each one faces the same winter hazards: poor traction, reduced visibility, fatigue, short daylight and long distances from help.

What the Law Expects for Winter Driving Safety in Canada

Canada has federal, provincial and territorial OHS laws, and they aren't identical. In most of them you won't find a section titled winter driving. Instead, the duty comes from general employer obligations, working-alone rules and traffic laws that sit outside OHS legislation.

General duty. Every jurisdiction places a broad duty on employers to protect workers. For federally regulated employers, section 124 of the Canada Labour Code says every employer shall ensure that the health and safety at work of every person it employs is protected. In Ontario, clause 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires employers to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. Winter driving is one of those circumstances.

Working alone. Many workers who drive are also working alone. British Columbia's OHS Regulation (sections 4.20.1 to 4.21) requires employers to identify hazards before assigning a worker to work alone and to have a written procedure for checking the worker's well-being at set intervals and at the end of the shift. Alberta's working-alone requirements (OHS Code Part 28) call for a hazard assessment and an effective communication system, and Alberta's explanation guide notes they may apply to a worker driving overnight on a less-travelled road or on a remote logging road. Saskatchewan's OHS Regulations also address working alone (Part 3, section 3-24).

Traffic rules. Provincial highway rules add another layer. In British Columbia, winter tires or chains are required on most designated routes from October 1 to April 30, with some routes ending March 31. In Quebec, vehicles registered in the province must have winter tires from December 1 to March 15. Your vehicles and your workers' vehicles need to meet the rules wherever they travel.

Beyond the law sits best practice and, for many employers, COR or SECOR expectations. Those programs expect hazards like winter driving to show up in your hazard assessments, procedures, training and inspections, not only in a seasonal safety talk.

Vehicles, Tires and Emergency Kits

Your vehicles should be ready before the first heavy snowfall, not after it. Schedule a seasonal inspection that covers tires, brakes, lights, wipers, battery, block heater and washer fluid. Road Safety at Work recommends four matched winter tires with at least 3.5 mm of tread. If workers use personal vehicles for business, your policy should state the minimum standard you expect and how you'll confirm it.

Every vehicle should carry a winter emergency kit. Transport Canada recommends items such as a first aid kit, an ice scraper, booster cables, a shovel and traction aids, a flashlight, flares and a reflective vest, extra clothing and a blanket, and food and water. Assign someone to check the kits, because a kit that was stocked two winters ago often isn't complete today.

Check-Ins, Working Alone and When to Cancel a Trip

Journey management simply means knowing who is on the road, where they're going, when they should arrive and what happens if they don't. For a short trip in town, that might be a calendar entry. For a long drive to a remote site, it should include a planned route, a departure and arrival time, check-in points and a clear escalation step if a worker misses a check-in.

Remember that cell coverage disappears on many rural and mountain routes. If your communication plan depends on a phone, test it on the actual route. Satellite devices or other check-in systems may be needed where coverage is unreliable.

Just as important, give workers clear permission to delay or cancel a trip when road conditions are unsafe. Many workers push through because they don't want to let a client down. A written go and no-go rule, backed by supervisors who support it, takes that pressure off and supports a worker's right to refuse unsafe work.

Common Gaps in Winter Driving Safety Programs

A 2021 survey of BC employers for Road Safety at Work found that only 19 per cent provided winter driving training and 38 per cent had a policy for driving in winter or bad weather. Those numbers point to gaps we often see in programs across Canada:

• Driving isn't listed in the hazard assessment, even though workers drive every day.
• The policy covers company vehicles but says nothing about personal vehicles used for work.
• Check-in procedures exist on paper, but nobody follows up when a worker doesn't call.
• Supervisors quietly expect workers to keep appointments regardless of the forecast.
• Emergency kits and tire checks happen once and are never verified again.

Roles of Managers, Supervisors and Workers

Managers set the tone by approving the plan, funding vehicle maintenance and making it clear that schedules bend for weather. Supervisors make it work day to day. They review trip plans, check road conditions with workers, follow up on missed check-ins and back up the decision to stay off the road.

Workers have a role too. They should complete a quick pre-trip check, use the check-in system, report vehicle defects and near misses, and speak up when conditions aren't safe. When everyone knows their part, the plan stops being a document and becomes how the work gets done.

Records That Show Your Plan Is Working

If something goes wrong, you'll need to show what you did before it happened. Useful records include the hazard assessment that covers driving, your winter driving policy and procedures, training and orientation records, vehicle inspection and maintenance records, emergency kit checks, journey plans and check-in logs, and near-miss and incident reports with their corrective actions. Dated, current records are what turn good intentions into evidence of due diligence.

Why This Matters for Your Business

A single winter crash can bring serious injuries, a workers' compensation claim with WCB, WSIB, CNESST or your provincial board, vehicle repair or replacement costs and lost time on projects that depend on that worker. It can also trigger an OHS investigation that looks closely at whether you assessed the hazard and put reasonable controls in place.

The business effects go further. Missed service calls and delayed crews disrupt operations. Clients and prime contractors may ask about driving safety during contractor prequalification. COR and SECOR audits expect to see hazards like driving addressed in your hazard assessments, procedures, training and inspections. A well-run winter driving program protects people first, and it also supports audit readiness, claims performance and your reputation as a reliable contractor.

Final Thoughts

Winter driving safety comes down to planning ahead. Know who's driving, assess the trips, prepare the vehicles, keep in touch with people on the road and make it acceptable to stay home when conditions are bad.

Before the snow settles in, sit down with your supervisors and walk through one typical winter trip from start to finish. Wherever the plan relies on luck, fix that first. If you'd like an experienced second set of eyes on your program, Book a Free 30-Minute Consultation with Calgary Safety Consultants.

We support employers on site across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and online across Canada.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the requirements that apply in your province or territory.

About the author

John Duplessis, B.Sc., CRSP

President and Principal Health & Safety Consultant

John Duplessis is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional with more than 30 years of occupational health and safety experience in oil and gas, construction, green energy, midstream operations, and industrial project work.

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