Safety experts had a message last week, and the president of the Ontario Safety League (OSL) lamented that some might not live long enough to hear it.

Brian Patterson was among a number of safety professionals who were out recently at the Landshark Esso Service Station on the southbound Highway 400, south of King Road. They were braving the heavy rain to try and drive home the message that commuting drivers pose a hazard to themselves and others on the road if they're not careful.

"From a safety perspective, it couldn't be a better day," he remarked.

The session, presented by Roadsafe.ca, provided a number of sobering facts, including that traffic accidents are the greatest single cause of traumatic workplace deaths in Ontario. The situation is serious since so many people these days are required to drive as part of their jobs.

The average day in Ontario will see two people die and more than 200 seriously injured in preventable accidents, according to Roadsafe. Between 2000 and 2005, vehicle accidents were responsible for 199 work-related deaths, or more than 30 per cent of work-related trauma fatalities.

As well, according to the 2003 Ministry of Transportation Road Safety Annual Report, there were more than 14,000 injuries and 75 people killed in crashes involving distracted drives. In addition, drivers who go more than 30 km-h over the speed limit are about six times more likely to kill or injure themselves.

Factors that contribute to these incidents include rushing to meet schedules and quotas; faulty and poorly maintained vehicles; weather conditions; inadequate driver training; distractions, including cell phones, eating, drinking, smoking, adjusting the radio or climate controls, passengers, etc.; fatigue; and aggressive driving, which includes speeding or ignoring traffic rules.

Since a significant portion of many people's workdays are spent behind the wheel, employers have some obligations. Among the steps they can take is setting standards for the company, including rules and expectations for those driving company vehicles, and making sure all drivers have proper training and understand the rules of the road.

Patterson said there are some 1,700 hospitalizations in Canada daily, and 30 per cent of them could be directly tied in with issues they were dealing with last week. And these issues are just as relevant in King, he added.

Patterson lives in Newmarket, and commutes through King every day. He said most of the roads in York Region are seeing the impacts of more people driving on work-related business, especially in light of the new subdivisions going in.

"Aggressive drivers are as common on concession roads and secondary roads as they are on the 400 series of highways," he observed. "It's a deadly practice with deadly consequences."

But there is some hope, including in York. Patterson complimented York Regional Police for making this a priority. He added a number of municipalities are working on training their drivers.

RoadWatch has also had a "profound" impact he said. In one three-week stretch in Newmarket, some 1,700 drivers were identified and received letters from the chief of police, advising them to improve their driving habits.

"Any other situation in which there was this amount of preventable death, we would see it as a pandemic or national health crisis," Patterson remarked.

Risky behaviour takes place in various situations. Patterson said there are concerns with the way some motorists handle themselves around rail crossings, including in King. Rail safety people have reported drivers rushing to get across ahead of trains "on a fairly consistent basis."

He added about 25 per cent of school bus drivers report someone passes them illegally at least once a day.

Patterson usually drives Weston Road, and people who are not aware of the rolling terrain or don't bother to adjust their habits can go racing over hills and suddenly come upon kids getting on or off a bus.

"It just takes one inattentive driver to execute a pass, and then we've got a crisis," he observed. OPP Sergeant Cam

Woolley said the extra workbound traffic has spilled over onto local roads.

"King roads have turned into secondary highways," he remarked, pointing out the heavy traffic on highways 400 or 27 have moved people onto Weston or Jane Street. And he said problems in King will be complicated with the sewers going into King City, along with expected development, because the road infrastructure has not kept up.

Woolley said he enjoys taking Sunday drives through King. He suggested people thinking of moving here should drive here Monday mornings at rush hour, so they can see what they're getting into.

"Rush hour has become an oxymoron here," he added. "You're not rushing and it's more than an hour."

Woolley also said people multi-tasking at the wheel causes a share of the problems. In addition to applying make-up and shaving while driving, people might be distracted as they consider the work they are about to start.

Patterson stressed the need for people to realize the consequences of their

actions and risky behaviour. He said he's seen people drive through school zones at 80 km-h, and stated anyone going 45 km-h over the limit should have their licences suspended on the spot.