Driving

Enform launched the second chapter of its province-wide Choose to Drive Safe campaign to educate Alberta's oil and gas industry workers October 31, 2007.

Enform Launches Second Province-wide Safe Driving Campaign for Oil and Gas Industry Workers

October 31, 2007

Enform Safe Driving Campaign - We'll Save You A Spot update:

The launch of the second Enform Safe Driving Campaign on October 29, 2007, at the Westin Hotel in Edmonton was very successful. We had a turnout of just under 100 people to partake in the campaign launch for the TV commercial and keynote speakers. Presentations from Murray Sunstrum - Vice President Safety Services Enform, Honourable Fred Lindsay - Alberta Solicitor General & Minister of Public Security, Eric Reitsma - Executive Director of Compliance for Alberta Employment, Immigration, and Industry, Bruce Wade - Superintendent Edmonton EMS, and Harvey Decock - Manager Special Projects, F I Oilfield Services Canada, set the mood for the campaign and focused on driving.

All the presentations resonated with the crowd emotionally. Emotions were evoked by presentations given by government officials on seat belt use and other in vehicle distractions such as cellphone use while driving. Superintendent Wade of Edmonton EMS verified the reality of the drama inside the ambulance in situations as the campaign commercial depicts. Seventeen years ago, Harvey was involved in a single vehicle rollover on the Coquihalla. Due to this catastrophic non-fatal crash he now maneuvers in a wheelchair. Harvey stated one statistical fact that was felt and understood by all the delegates in the audience, "If you're injured, it will change your life 100 percent and affect your family and everyone around you." Murray Sunstrum discussed the impact of the commercial and how it sparked a memory for himself surviving a head-on collision and he ended his presentation by showing a photo of his new baby boy, which reiterated Harvey's message.

The TV and radio commercial is now airing on a variety of local radio stations and on CBC. These are also available on this page. New to the campaign this year is a Facebook group called Enform Safe Driving Campaign 2007-2008. We designed this to be a safe driving campaign hub and welcome all to join. It is in the early stages and will have many safe driving resources and links to other safe driving initiatives. Check it out.

October 29, 2007
Press Release

In 2006, Enform - the training, certification and health and safety services arm of the upstream petroleum industry - launched an Alberta-wide safe driving awareness campaign to encourage drivers in the petroleum industry to "Choose to Drive Safe." Round two of this successful initiative launched October 29, 2007, focusing directly on drivers to enforce the fact that death is not always perceived as the worst end result.

"We already know that there is a long ways to go in improving driving habits and when a collision occurs death is not always the end result, but rather paralysis, a brain injury or the loss of a limb," said Murray Sunstrum, Vice-President of Safety, Enform. "We see the same factors show up again and again in motor vehicle collisions: lack of seatbelt use, fatigue and driving under the influence whether it is drugs or alcohol. Many industry workers think they are unstoppable and we must reinforce that their poor driving decisions create horrible consequences that may be perceived as worse than death."

According to research performed by Enform using data from the western Canadian Workers' Compensation Boards, "187 oil and gas industry workers were killed in motor vehicle incidents from 1994 - 2005. For every one person killed and reported to a Workers' Compensation Board, as many as twenty additional deaths are not reported as they occur "off the job" when driving to and from the oil field site." What is more frightening is the unknown number of non-fatal incidents, left out of statistics, where the survivors are left with severe consequences. Those who live through motor vehicle collisions can be left with either a severe injury, injuring someone else or in a fatal situation, the death of someone else. Albertans need to be educated, and ultimately, engaged about this serious issue in order to reduce these consequences.

The campaign's objective is to educate oil and gas industry drivers as well as family and friends that it is their decision to drive safe. Whether driving on the job or off the job, how we drive affects everyone - passengers, family, friends, employers, co-workers, those who share the road with us and ourselves.

Enform will utilize a variety of mediums to get this crucial message out during its second campaign including advertisements in newspapers, television, radio, billboards, and theatre screens. A full public relations campaign is also being implemented throughout the four-month initiative to increase exposure and awareness for this critical issue.

See the 2007 campaign materials:
Radio
Television
Billboard
Print

2007 Choose to Drive Safe - Campaign Materials

Sticker (2"x2")


Poster (17"x11")


Notepad (4"x4")

Enform is utilizing a variety of campaign materials to get this crucial message out during the campaign including driving posters, stickers, and notepads.

Get your employees involved and make a statement. Distribute these campaign materials at your place of work to remind your employees to drive safely.

These campaign materials are available free of charge through Enform by contacting (403) 250-9606 or 1 (800) 667-5557 (toll free), or email us at safety@enform.ca