VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The mother of a gas station attendant who died trying to collect money from a fleeing customer said a groundbreaking new law taking effect today in British Columbia will protect other station employees from a similar fate, reported The Vancouver Sun.
The law, the first of its kind in Canada, requires B.C. drivers to always pay before they pump, day or night.
"I'm elated about the law," Corinne De Patie, whose son Grant De Patie was killed three years ago trying to prevent a gas-and-dash robbery when he was working alone at a station in Maple Ridge, B.C., told the [image-nocss] newspaper. Since then, De Patie's family has campaigned for increased protection for station employees. "It's a legacy that Grant left behind," she added.
As of February 1, all drivers across the province must first pay by cash, credit or debit before they fuel up to prevent thieves from gassing up, then fleeing.
"As for a formal regulation, it's the first one of its kind in the country," Roberta Ellis, WorkSafeBC's vice president of policy, investigations and review, told the paper.
De Patie, 24, ran after somebody who was trying to steal $12.30 worth of fuel. He became entangled in the fleeing car and was dragged to his death, said the report.
Along with the requirement for 24-hour advance payments at the fuel pumps, several other changes come into effect on Friday, the report said. Employers big and small must eliminate or minimize hazards to lone workers and maximize physical barriers between the public and cashiers. This is in addition to phone check-in requirements already on the books.
The definition of those working alone includes anyone from a social worker visiting a troubled home to a teen manning a tanning booth. It applies to people who would not have immediate access to help in an emergency.
Late-night operations must also either schedule two workers together or physically separate a lone worker from the public by providing a significant barrier, such as a locked door or pay window.
Another change requires late-night retail premises, open after 10 p.m. and before 6 a.m., to have written procedures on how workers handle money.
Click herefor WorkSafeBC's webpage on the new regulations.
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