
Over the past two decades, safety professional Brian Patterson has seen improvements in education, enforcement and engineering.
The president and CEO of the Ontario Safety League (OSL) notes that more is being done to train drivers, although many would say it’s still not enough.
He highlights the “terrific collaboration with police” regarding increased enforcement over stunt driving and commercial vehicle operator records.

On the engineering side, he said that the features introduced in vehicles have helped with a reduction of overall fatality rates.
After 20 years at the helm of the OSL, Patterson, a treasure-trove of information on safety-related topics and familiar face and voice on television and radio, is hanging up his high-visibility vest and retiring.
Focused on safety
He’s worked with three premiers and six transportation ministers. “I haven’t had a minister of transportation who wasn’t focused on safety and prepared to give me time. And of all three premiers, if we bumped into each other at a grocery store, they would come over and say hi,” he said.
Patterson has an interesting take on driver trainers. Some will say they have 30 years experience training people. “Some people have one week’s experience, and they just repeated it for 30 years. There is always somebody wanting to lower the bar, make things less safe, and I’m always fighting against that,” he said.
Driving members of the royal family
Patterson’s career began with the Canadian Armed Forces. A favorite memory from his soldiering days is meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II and driving members of the royal family during the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
“I got selected for the VIP driving package and lived on the Britannia,” he recalls. “I drove Prince Edward and Prince Andrew. Princess Anne was competing. We had a special invitation to meet the Queen in her chambers on the Britannia.”
After his military service, he worked as a fraud investigator. After doing a couple of jobs for the OSL, including work on the red light camera issue, 20 years ago its board members asked him if he would lead the organization temporarily. He accepted and never left.
He’s also been a safety consultant on Discovery Channel’s reality television show Heavy Rescue: 401. “I’ve been involved in every year of production, and I’ve seen the huge success. We trained their drivers and camera crews to be safe.”

Patterson has been recognized for his community service and proudly displays the six medals he has received from the governor general.
Volunteering in retirement
He does not plan to slow down in retirement. Patterson will continue to volunteer at St. John Ambulance where he works with therapy dogs, emergency response and everything in between.
He is also planning to volunteer with Health Partners International Canada, a charity that provides medicines to people living in vulnerable communities around the world.
In parting, Patterson joked that Manitoulin Island needs a volunteer safety coordinator for the fishing area. “I plan to spend the summer visiting many fishing places. I think the world will be a better place because of my engagement with fishing.”
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