A tragic example of what can go wrong when people visit a workplace occurred in Ontario, Canada, in November 2000.

Amanda Peat and Robert Fulbrook, both 14, were among a group of 32 students visiting the John Deere Welland Works plant in the Niagara region on Take Your Kids to Work Day. This event allows ninth graders to shadow their parents for a day.

Peat and Fulbrook were operating a Gator two-seat utility vehicle when it struck and passed underneath a parked trailer at the plant. Both teens died in hospital.

A coroner’s inquest heard that the 14-year-olds had been allowed to drive a Gator all-terrain-vehicle (ATV) even though warning labels said operators should be at least 16.

The coroner’s jury recommended that students not be permitted to drive motorized vehicles during job-shadowing days, and that keys to the vehicles should be removed.

The jury also recommended that:

• Students should be directly supervised by an adult at all times during worksite visits.
• Students sign waivers describing what activities they could be exposed to, before setting foot on the jobsite.
• Companies participating in Take Your Kids to Work Day develop clear rules for employees responsible for overseeing visiting students.

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