Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Apr 15/02) - The National Energy Board issued a safety advisory to the oil patch Wednesday warning companies to take precautions when employees are doing work by the roadside.

The advisory was issued as a result of the February ice road crash that claimed the life of a Tuktoyaktuk man.

The federal safety organization is recommending that:

• Company vehicles be equipped with roadside emergency kits, including first aid supplies, fire extinguishers and reflective triangles.
• Employees be trained in how to safely work on the roadside and properly deploy reflective barriers.
• Workers not place themselves between vehicles to do repairs, unless other personnel are there to direct traffic.
• All workers conducting repairs by the roadside wear proper safety wear, including reflective clothing and hard hats.

Russell Newmark, vice-president of Gruben's Transport, says the recommendations are in line with the independent investigations conducted by the companies involved.

He says since the accident, companies have been more vigilant about making sure disabled vehicles are properly marked.

"If you look at ice road travel in the whole region, up until now, people have not gotten into the habit of illuminating their vehicles with reflective stuff and triangles. It's something everyone should do, not just industry, because it makes ice road travel safer."

A Gruben's employee, Carl Smith, was killed Feb. 4 after he was struck by a semi-trailer while working on a broken-down snow tractor.

He was killed on impact, while his co-worker, Troy Cahoon was thrown clear of the truck and escaped serious injury.

Police called the crash an unfortunate accident and said there were no reasons to lay charges against the driver of the semi-trailer.