Toolbox Talk · ~5 minutes

# Driving & Shorter Days

Daylight doesn't fade out gradually enough to notice. One week the drive home is full sun — the next it's dark by the time the truck's loaded, and nobody's driving like it.

[Print the sign-in sheet](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools?form=toolbox-talk-sign-in#form-library)
[All toolbox talks](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks.html)

## How to run it

Read it through once, then talk it — don't recite it. Five minutes
at the start of the shift, crew standing where the work happens.
Under O. Reg. 213/91, s. 14(3)–(4), the talk is held by a
supervisor or a competent person the supervisor appoints — and the
sign-in sheet is what proves it happened.

## Talk through these points

- Pre-trip just got more important. A headlight that's been out for two weeks didn't matter in July — it matters now. Walk around the truck and actually look, don't just listen for the beep.

- Deer move more in the fall, and they move at dawn and dusk — which is exactly when the crew's driving now. Slow down on the rural stretches between sites, especially the first and last run of the day.

- Low morning and evening sun is its own hazard on the commute — visor down doesn't mean you can see the vehicle that just stopped ahead of you. Back off the following distance.

- If the crew's still wrapping up after dark, a spotter in dark coveralls is invisible from the cab. Hi-vis and a flashlight stop being optional once the sun's down by five.

- The first cold snap shows up weeks before anyone's thinking about winter. A wet morning that was just wet last month can be black ice by late October — treat it that way before you've confirmed otherwise.

- The start- and end-of-shift walk-around doesn't get skipped because it's dark now. Cords, offcuts and open holes don't move just because you can't see them as well.

## Ask the crew

- Whose headlights or running lights are we not sure about?

- What's the plan if the crew's still on site after dark this week?

- Who's driving the longest stretch home, and are they doing it on no sleep?

The answers are the real talk. If a question lands on a live hazard,
write it down and assign it a name and a date.

## Paper it

A talk without a record didn't happen, as far as anyone who asks is
concerned. Print these free:

[Toolbox talk sign-in sheet](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools?form=toolbox-talk-sign-in#form-library)
[Daily Vehicle Inspection / DVIR](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools?form=daily-vehicle-inspection#form-library)
[Light-Duty / Company Vehicle Checklist](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools?form=light-duty-vehicle-checklist#form-library)

## A new talk every week.

The toolbox talks page rotates a featured topic weekly — bookmark it, or grab the talk by email every Monday.

[This week’s talk](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks.html)
[Next: Ladder Safety](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/ladder-safety.html)

[Lightning & Severe Weather](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/lightning-severe-weather.html)
[All 126 contractor forms](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools#form-library)

## Next, from Blue Crane

- [**Field Level Hazard Assessment**The form the crew fills in before the work starts](https://bluecraneworks.ca/field-level-hazard-assessment-flha.html)

- [**Safe Work Procedure template**Write the procedure this talk refers to](https://bluecraneworks.ca/safe-work-procedure-template.html)

- [**Document Control Systems**Sign-offs, certs and safety records, provable in under a minute](https://bluecraneworks.ca/solutions/document-control.html)

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Source: https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/driving-shorter-days