Standard of Care Presentation

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Standard Of Care - 3.5 hr. presentation on YOUR legal responsibilities

If you drive for a company or organization as part of or all of your occupation, the law considers you to have a greater standard of care to drive safely and defensively. Criminal courts have established that professional drivers have a greater standard of care when operating vehicles. Bill C-45 has created corporate criminal liability.

Organizations have always had to deal with civil liability (fault) and the torte process in civil courts. Bill C-45 has established a specific section within criminal negligence that impose criminal liability upon an organization. As a result, directors, managers, supervisors and other persons in authority within an organization can be charged criminally. An organization must take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to employees and/or any other persons arising from work conducted by the organization.

“What you don’t know can hurt you”

Standard of Care (SOC) is a dynamic 3.5 hour presentation targeted at any driver who operates a heavy commercial vehicle, as well as supervisors and fleet managers. The presentation discusses key issues for today’s professional driver and communicates the main relationship between professional driving, professional driver training, and the law.

The session calls on clients to: recognize their criminal, civil, and corporate obligations; operate safely; understand driving myths about behaviour and attitude; and advance driver education.

Topics Include:

  • Importance of professionalism and attitude towards driving
  • High-risk behaviours such as: unsafe speed, non-use of seat-belts, distraction
  • Driving as an Art rather than an Act –with reference to visual search patterns
  • Vehicle dynamics: kinetic energy, braking-steering-acceleration, and rollover stability
  • Tire and road surface considerations
  • Incident examples

Did you Know?

There are numerous fallacies that have been adopted by drivers over the years. The SOC presentation addresses those issues and eliminates false information. Topics covered will often lead to enlightening discussion with regard to current and local issues, with specific reference to recent Supreme Court of Canada rulings in company litigation cases. “Standard of Care” is a legal term that establishes minimum standards.

Similar to malpractice, it is the same reference to a professional who demonstrates negligence by an act or omission in which care provided has deviated from accepted standards of practice, and causes injury or death to someone. Standard of Care refers to drivers as well as their supervisors and can apply to on and off-duty situations. Regular and ongoing training is a requirement of due diligence and is mandatory under Canada’s Occupational Health and Safety laws.

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