Many people who call northern Saskatchewan home rely heavily on the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATV's) in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter as modes of transportation.
Due to the remote locations of some boreal forest communities, it can be difficult to locate and purchase helmets and other safety equipment for operating often-used ATV's and snowmobiles. After responding to multiple serious and sometimes fatal collisions, RCMP officers wanted to try something new to target community safety.
Getting the project started
A Black Lake RCMP officer, Cst. Tayte Hale-Goddard, took the initiative to start an ATV safety project in his community, "I wanted to better educate the community on the safety practices in place when operating different utility vehicles." He first reached out to SGI and shared some local ATV statistics and first-hand experiences as a police officer who has responding to collisions. The idea snowballed when Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) became involved after identifying similar safety concerns. PAGC represents 26 First Nations communities in northern Saskatchewan.
A community grant was secured through SGI and the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Partnership Project. Sask Health's ABI program aims to help those with damage to the brain that occurs after birth. Each year in Sask, about 2,200 people sustain an ABI.
"Our traffic collision data didn't quite capture the nature of the problem in these northern communities," said Tracy Church (SGI). "If it hadn't been for talking with the RCMP, PAGC, ABI, and Athabasca Health Authority, we wouldn't have known the helmets were the biggest safety concern."
Tracy Church (SGI) worked hard to raise $20,000 in SGI funding beyond the community grant funds to expand this helmet safety initiative through the PAGC. To date, 341 helmets have been purchased and transported north by the RCMP to Black Lake, Wollaston Lake and Fond du Lac.
¼ of ATV/snowmobile injuries head-related
Jennie Knudsen from ABI said national statistics show head injuries account for one quarter of ATV/snowmobile injuries. Individuals between 15 and 19-years-old have the greatest rate of ATV injuries in Canada.
"Wearing a helmet can be the difference between life or death in an ATV collision/rollover," she added, "Over the past decade there has been an increased demand for ATV/snowmobile safety education and equipment based on the increasing number of injuries and fatalities in communities."
Education and helmet giveaways
Officers from the Black Lake RCMP detachment held draws in the spring and summer as part of an education campaign to reward good ATV driving behaviour in the community, with a focus on harm reduction. The prize? A new helmet!
"We had to adapt our education component because of the pandemic. It was important for us to provide education first, before enforcement, so we printed flyers with ATV and Traffic Safety Act information and distributed them in the community," explained Sgt. Éric Desfossés, Black Lake Detachment Commander.
In addition to the educational flyers, the detachment gave away six helmets per week to community members with the assistance of the Athabasca Health Authority. "Within days, we saw a huge increase in helmet use – up to 90 percent!" recalled Sgt. Éric Desfossés. The program also gave Black Lake RCMP officers the opportunity to meet more people in the community.
Let's learn!
Despite delays due to the ongoing pandemic and weather, ATV and snowmobile safety education continued in Wollaston Lake.
On November 16, the RCMP, together with PAGC and ABI, spoke with high school students about the dangers of impaired driving and importance of ATV safety and helmet use. At the end of the presentation, just over 100 students each received their very own helmet.
Wollaston Lake Detachment responded to two serious incidents within the past year where helmets were not used. Detachment Commander Sgt. Jeff Carter explained that northern communities often have limited space and no ditches, which sometimes forces all traffic to share the road. There are also no designated ATV/snowmobile trails like in southern Sask.
Sgt. Jeff Carter is optimistic these helmets will be put to good use. "A lot of youth use ATV's as a mode of transportation, which leads to their friends being passengers as well," he said, "The value of safety education and proper use of equipment greatly reduces the risk of harmful accidents."
'Be a role model'
"I had a personal experience losing my brother to impaired driving," shared Alphie Dorion (PAGC), "I asked my supervisor at PAGC if there was someone who could advocate for safe driving and then I stepped into this education position."
Alphie Dorion recognized the importance of speaking directly to youth about ATV/snowmobile safety.
"People are not wearing helmets – this is an issue and accidents are happening all over Saskatchewan, not just the north," he stressed, "I think it's important to target youth – to have hope for the future. I told the high school students that little kids are going to look up to you wearing helmets. You have to be role models for them."
Moving forward
"It is important to work together to draw on all strengths, experiences and resources to work towards zero injuries and fatalities," said Jennie Knudsen (ABI), "Injuries impact everyone. The partnership between RCMP, SGI, PAGC, SK Health Authority (ABI) to work at providing safety equipment and education is the seed to start growing a culture of ATV/snowmobile safety within the communities."
"I am proud of what we have accomplished; bringing awareness to an issue that effects multiple communities. It really reflects on how communication and partnerships are vital to all of our jobs," said Cst. Tayte Hale-Goddard, who noted again this approach stresses education before enforcement. "(The RCMP) is taking this seriously and we want to work with everyone to find a long-lasting solution."
An initiative that began with one email and one goal to educate and increase safety in a Saskatchewan community, has resulted in a much larger partnership among many agencies, schools, communities, organizations, health regions and beyond. In addition, this important work will continue into the future as more grants and funding is awarded and initiatives undertaken in more communities.
The ultimate goal? "Helmets for all youth attending school in Athabasca region. It would be amazing!" said Tracy Church (SGI).
"Zero fatalities and injuries," added Alphie Dorion (PAGC), "We want everyone to be safe: Elders, children…everyone."