North Bay Vision Zero
The Vision Zero concept was originally developed in Sweden and adopted by Swedish Parliament as a national policy in 1997 to deal with increasing motor vehicle collision fatalities. In Canada, the cities of Edmonton and Toronto have also adopted Vision Zero plans for road safety. A Vision Zero Committee for the City of North Bay has now presented a proposal to the City Mayor and Head of Engineers, and received approval to present a full Vision Zero plan to City Council for adoption by the municipality. The Committee is composed of members of the North Bay City Police Service, North Bay OPP Detachment, North Bay Fire and Emergency Services, North Bay and District Emergency Medical Services, Ministry of Transportation, OIPPN Concussion in MVC, and North Bay Accident Support Services Ltd. The Committee feels very fortunate to have the appropriate Community Partners as part of the team at such an early stage.
Vision Zero’s mission statement is working towards zero fatalities and serious injuries on North Bay roads and they are confident that they will achieve road safety excellence in North Bay through evidence based strategies and collaborative community partnerships.
The committee recently launched their initial Plan Zero operation, a campaign on Concussion Awareness. It has been identified that concussion symptoms are transient and do not always present immediately. For this reason, many individuals often decline health care at the scene of a collision. Drivers suffering a concussion should be advised not to drive for at least 24 hours after a collision and the Committee pilot project is an opportunity to educate individuals involved in a motor vehicle collision on the signs and symptoms of concussion. First responders (North Bay Police Service, North Bay OPP Detachment, North Bay Fire and Emergency Services, North Bay and District Emergency Medical Services) will hand out educational cards to individuals at the scene who decline medical attention and are suspected of possible concussion. These information cards will also be available to drivers reporting their collisions at the North Bay Collision Reporting Centre.
North Bay Accident Support Services Ltd. is honoured to work with Vision Zero and North Bay’s first responders as they work to increase road safety for citizens. ASSI is pleased to support many road and community safety initiatives in the jurisdictions served by our Collision Reporting Centres.