Page 21 - Suncor 360

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FEATURE
MAY 2014
360

Seat-of-the-pants

seatbelt use

makes no sense

In a worst-case scenario, wearing a seatbelt will likely decide if you walk

away from a vehicle crash with no more than a bruise, or if you walk

away at all. In Canada, people not wearing seatbelts account for almost

40 per cent of fatalities in vehicle collisions.

Vehicle accidents are less common at the In a safety relection in October 2013, 3. “I’m very concerned about safety at
mine than slips, trips and falls, soft tissue Anne Marie Toutant described standing up plant site, and if you are not interested to

injuries and Line of Fire injuries (read more for seatbelt use on the airport shuttle from follow a simple safety rule to buckle up on

on P. 12). However, “Injuries resulting from the Suncor Business Centre. Anne Marie, buses, I’m not conident that you’d
not wearing a seatbelt are very emotional VP oil sands & in situ optimization & consistently follow other safety rules.”

ones for us,” says Lynn Gould, director integration, asked everyone to buckle up
Millennium mine operations.
when it appeared most of the dozen on the Maybe you think it’s too much effort to
buckle and unbuckle a seatbelt multiple
bus had no intention of doing so.
That’s because seatbelts have been times a day. Maybe it’s uncomfortable.
mandatory for many years – 38 in Ontario, She shared three reasons:
Maybe you didn’t realize wearing a seatbelt

32 in Newfoundland, 31 in the U.K. and is one of Suncor’s 10 Life-saving Rules.
27 in Alberta and Colorado. So why do 1. “I care about your safety, and

people feel buckling up is optional?
in the event this bus was in an accident, It doesn’t matter. If your vehicle has a
I don’t want any of you to be loose seatbelt, wear it.

“We would never conceive of driving down projectiles. You could be injured or you
the highway without a seatbelt any more,” could injure others.”
*A detailed review and ield tests of the trams at
Firebag did not recommend the use of seatbelts
Lynn says. “But people have a feeling of
invincibility when they get on a coach or 2. “We are on a Journey to Zero at Suncor, there based on the 30 km-per-hour speed and
and part of that journey is a commitment coniguration of the trams.
shift change bus and don’t automatically
buckle the seatbelts.”
to adhere to all safety rules and
procedures. Wearing seatbelts, if

Unfortunately, when a bus tipped over at available*, on Suncor-provided
transportation is one of our rules.”
the Millennium mine in March 2014, three
people were sent to the hospital. We know
360+
that seatbelt use at the time was not
100 per cent.
See also, “Seatbelt
Squad is on a mission”
on the Core >
About Suncor >
Company News.