City hall saw a 58-per-cent decrease in employee safety incidents in the third quarter of this year over last year, with motor vehicle incidents and property damage seeing the largest declines.
There were 29 safety incidents during Q3 of this year, compared to 52 such incidents during Q3 last year, a third-quarter report to city council explained. This represents a decline of 58 per cent.
Of those 29 incidents, 15 employees were injured between July and September compared to 20 during the same time last year.
Meanwhile, there were nine employee-involved motor vehicle incidents compared to 19 episodes last year, five staff-related property damage incidents compared to 10 episodes last year, and zero dangerous occurrences compared to three incidents last year
Of the 15 employee injuries, one involved a fall, five were for overexertion and nine employees were struck by, against or between something, the report said. Medical aid was issued to five people, including four struck by, against or between something and one for overexertion.
There were no lost time or days lost during the third quarter because of these injuries. In comparison, there were two lost-time incidents and 7.75 days lost in Q3 2020.
Of the nine motor vehicle incidents, one involved a collision after an employee’s foot hit the gas pedal, two involved passing motorists hitting bus mirrors, one city vehicle was rear-ended, two involved property damage due to inattentive employee drivers, one involved an employee reversing without a spotter, one involved an “environmental” incident involving narrow back lanes, and one was due to mechanical failure.
The five property damage incidents included three for environmental or private property, one for inattention and one caused by a third party.
Meanwhile, zero employees refused to perform work in the third quarter, similar to Q3 2020.
Year-to-date, there have been 41 injuries, 50 motor vehicle incidents, 11 property damage incidents, eight dangerous occurrences and two refusals to work, for a total of 112 incidents.
In comparison, year-to-date data for 2020 shows there were 56 injuries, 39 motor vehicle incidents, 16 property damage episodes, six dangerous occurrences and zero refusals to work, for a total of 117 incidents.
“There has been a great reduction in safety statistics. Everything is going down quite nicely,” said city manager Jim Puffalt.
Residents hit bus mirrors because some transfer areas on Main Street are narrow and buses sometimes become stuck in tight spaces, he added. City hall can’t control those problems, but it is looking at purchasing retractable mirrors for the buses to use when they pull over.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Dec. 6.
