‘The work environment changes every day’
The death of a 31-year-old road worker in Pickering, Ont., is renewing scrutiny of a known and preventable hazard: heavy equipment reversing without a signaller on active construction sites.
Durham Regional Police were called to the area of Peter Matthews and Alexander Knox drives at approximately 2:40 p.m. on Nov. 2, according to a CP24 report.
“During asphalt repair on Peter Matthews Drive, a dump truck was reversing southbound when it struck a 31-year-old male road worker,” Durham Regional Police said in a news release Tuesday. “The road worker was transported to local-area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The driver of the dump truck remained on scene and cooperated with police.”
Members of Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Labour attended the scene. Roads were closed for several hours but have since reopened. The deceased worker had not been identified at time of publication.
Why does it keep happening?
This hazard is not new to Ontario. In September 2026, CTV News reported a 33-year-old man was struck and killed by an industrial truck during road work in Brampton, with the Ministry of Labour notified. The Ontario Ministry of Labour recorded 232 critical injuries and 25 fatalities from vehicle and equipment struck-by incidents in Ontario construction workplaces between January 2017 and December 2023; the IHSA recorded 102 critical struck-by injuries across the sectors it serves in 2024 alone.
Experts say the answer lies in a gap between regulation and practice. Rob Covassin, director of EHS, Civil East Aecon, told Rock to Road that complacency is a central driver. “Don’t fall into a routine where you become complacent in one location,” he said. “The work environment changes every day.” Peter Wehmeyer, founder of Cobblestone Safety Consultants Inc. and a 30-year industry veteran, identifies site planning as the upstream failure. “In our industry, the biggest thing to do is attract the driver’s attention. Positive guidance is key, so the driver has the information they need to understand and react appropriately,” he told the same publication.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour traces the problem to a failure to plan projects to reduce reversing, combined with inadequately trained signallers and operators. High-visibility vests, while mandatory, are a last line of defence — not a substitute for the signaller requirement that Ontario courts have enforced repeatedly against employers who ignored it.
Regulation requires signallers — but compliance gaps persist
Under Ontario Regulation 213/91 (Construction Projects), vehicles must not be operated in reverse unless there is no practical alternative, and when reversing is unavoidable, a qualified signaller must guide the operator. The IHSA further recommends that dump trucks be equipped with an automatic audible alarm that activates whenever the vehicle reverses.
The courts have consistently penalised employers who fall short. Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) has reported that an Ottawa paving company was fined $115,000 for a reversing dump truck fatality, having pleaded guilty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to failing to ensure the driver was assisted by a signaller, contrary to Section 104(3) of Ontario Regulation 213/91. COS also reported that an Ontario farming corporation and contractor were fined a combined $145,000 following a backover fatality{target="_blank"} at a farm demolition site in Warwick Township in 2024 — again because no signaller was present.
Durham Regional Police have asked anyone with information about the Nov. 2 collision to contact investigators. The Ministry of Labour’s attendance signals a workplace safety investigation is underway that could result in charges or orders under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Employers working on or near active roadways are urged to review their obligations under Ontario Regulation 213/91 and consult IHSA’s Struck-by Incidents and Heavy Equipment advisory before incidents like this one occur.
