August
29, 2002
The Hon. David Collenette, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Transport
Tower C, Place de Ville, 29th floor
330 Sparks St.
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N5
Dear Minister Collenette:
Congratulations on your 2001 update to Road Safety Vision 2010 and
for the steady progress in reducing the devastating toll of roadway crashes, injuries and
fatalities.
The Salt Institute, representing the Canadian salt industry and leading salt companies globally, is vitally committed to improving the safety of Canadian roadways. While we endorse the long-term plan aimed at “Making Canada’s Roads the Safest in the World,” we would suggest an additional consideration to speed achievement of this goal. In concept, it could well become a fifth strategic goal when the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators revisits the long-term plan; in the meantime, integration of the concept would further the goal of reducing roadway crashes, injuries and deaths. Several of the initiatives of the current plan – enforcement, improving data collection and adopting safety improvements associated with Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) chief among them – suggest our recommendation will integrate smoothly into the current plan. Finally, adoption of our recommendation will alter perceptions about the scope of roadway safety initiatives – but has the advantage that the activity is already underway. All that is required is to alter the perception of the highway safety community in recognizing – and measuring – the activity as a highway safety intervention.
The new strategic goal we are suggesting is improving safe roadway
operations.
It is important to build safe roadways and it is important to enforce
traffic laws, but enforcement is too limited a description for the broader safety
contributions of all actions by roadway owners to assure that their asset is managed
safely. Operations such as work zone
management, incident management and snow and ice control play a critical role in
preserving or restoring safe driving conditions.
When cars safely navigate a construction zone or a tow truck safely
removes a disabled vehicle or anti-icing or deicing preserve or restore roadway surface
friction, safe driving conditions have been restored or enhanced. However, at the present
time, these critical actions tend to go unnoticed by the safety community. This relative disinterest in promoting effective
highway operations as a safety priority – including snow and ice control, for example
– means that these activities struggle for funding priority. Regarding snow and ice control, many communities
are unaware of the safety advantages of anti-icing – preventing deterioration of safe
roadway conditions – as opposed to deicing – restoring safe roadway surface
conditions after they become snow- or ice-covered (and cause traffic crashes). Funding for training can speed the lifesaving
benefits of new snowfighting technologies and incorporate ITS technologies to aid in
snowfighting and other highway operations. Of
all the OECD countries, none should have a greater appreciation for this example. I invite you to visit our webpage dealing with
this issue: http://www.saltinstitute.org/canada/news.html#safety.
The reason the safety community tends to ignore roadway operations is because these operations have historically been viewed as "public works" concerns, as opposed to safety concerns. This is wrong and we believe that you and your provincial colleagues are in an excellent position to advocate and promote an important change within the transportation safety community.
Incorporating safety-promoting highway operations as an integrated
part of Canada’s program to reduce the painful toll of those dying and disabled on
our roadways will boost the speed by which Canada achieves its highway safety goals. Research confirms intuition that applying salt
makes roads safer – within four hours, injury crashes are cut 88.3%. Similar safety benefits accrue with effective
incident management, properly-designed and -operated work zones and other operational
policies.
Several of the initiatives of your current plan – enforcement,
improving data collection and adopting safety improvements associated with Intelligent
Transport Systems (ITS) chief among them – suggest our recommendation will integrate
smoothly into the proposed plan. Finally,
adoption of our recommendation will alter perceptions about the scope of roadway safety
initiatives – but has the advantage that the activity is already underway. All that is required is to alter the perception
of the highway safety community in recognizing – and measuring – this activity
as a legitimate and important highway safety intervention.
Your perspective as Minister of Transport encompasses both concerns for
safety and mobility – and for the efficient management of Canada’s roadway
infrastructure. We look forward to working
with you to promote safer roads, in any case, but we are anxious to work with you to
integrate safety and roadway operations as a means to “Make Canada’s Roads the
Safest in the World.” We would welcome
the opportunity to discuss this suggestion with you and your responsible officials at any
time.
Sincerely,
Richard L. Hanneman
President, Salt Institute
cc: Randy
Sanderson, Chief of Road Safety, Transport Canada
Emile-J.
Therien, President, Canada Safety Council
Michel
Gravel, Executive Director, Transportation Association of Canada
Michel
Gravel, Executive Director, Canadian Council of Motor Vehicle Administrators
Wally
Wells, President, Canadian Public Works Association
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