Exercise a little restraint

Click it or Ticket. Clever way of reminding us that Washington State has two passenger safety restraining laws in effect. Here are the condensed versions of the laws:

RCW 46.61. 688 Every person sixteen years of age or older operating or riding in a motor vehicle shall wear the safety belt assembly in a properly adjusted and securely fastened manner.

RCW 46.61.687 (1) Whenever a child who is less than sixteen years of age is being transported in a motor vehicle that is in operation and that is required by RCW 46.37.510 to be equipped with a safety belt system in a passenger seating position, or is being transported in a neighborhood electric vehicle that is in operation, the driver of the vehicle shall keep the child properly restrained.

Do you ever have children ride in your car? Do you know what is the appropriate child passenger safety seat for the age, height and weight of the child, how to install it and how to fit it correctly to the child? IF NOT, Evergreen Safety Council can help! Call (206) 382-4090 or (800) 521-0778 and set up an appointment to have your seat checked. We currently also offer seat checks on Thursday afternoons, from 3:00 to 4:30 as part of the Cascade Neighborhood Farmer's Market.

National Night Out

Get ready for the Cascade Block Party! Celebrate National Night Out with Cascade People’s Center on Tuesday, August 4th from 4 - 8 pm. This fun family event will feature games, bouncy castle, barbecue, live music by THE HOOT HOOTS and POETIC GROOVE and more–and it’s absolutely free!

A great public safety event...
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is designed to:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
• Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs;
• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and
• Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Background

The Cascade Block Party is an annual event promoting safety and crime prevention. Simply put, it's an opportunity for neighbors to get to know each other. It is connected with the National Night Out (sometimes known as Neighbor Night Out) every year.

This is the 9th Annual Cascade Block Party. It is held in Cascade Park, next door to the Cascade People's Center and the P-Patch. The address is 333 Pontius Ave. N, between Harrison & Thomas.

Cascade People's Center has always taken a lead role in coordinating the Cascade Block Party. Every year, the Center organizes bands, food, family entertainment, and community tables. The City of Seattle Parks and Recreation Department supplies chairs, tables, tents, bbqs, and other equipment. The Center is responsible for all other items & expenses and rely on in-kind donors and sponsors to help make the event possible.

The event itself is a celebration with two bands, free bbq, children's activities (including a bouncy castle!), and tables set up for neighborhood organizations and service providers to share information about what they do. The Seattle Police Dept and Emergency Planning Dept also attend to share information about neighborhood safety & crime prevention.

If you are interested in Sponsorship or Volunteer opportunities, please contact:

Melissa Jonas Community Outreach/Fund Development Cascade People's Center

206-587-0320(Center) / 206-779-2736(cell) / http://www.cascadepeoplescenter.org/

If you can't participate in the SLU event - it's not too late to find out if one of the 15,000 community events is happening near you or to organize your own event with the help of a few neighbors.

NHTSA: Minimum restraint & drinking laws save lives

An estimated 18,583 lives were saved in 2008 because people used seat belts, wore helmets and took other safety precautions prior to a motor vehicle crash, a new report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows.

In the report (.pdf file), researchers at NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis estimated:

• 13,250 lives were saved by seat belts.
• 2,546 lives were saved by front air bags.
• 1,829 lives were saved by motorcycle helmets.
• 714 lives (ages 18-20) were saved by age-21 drinking laws.
• 244 lives (ages 4 and younger) were saved by child restraints such as child safety seats and lap/shoulder belts.

Researchers said an additional 4,152 lives would have been saved if unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older had worn seat belts, and an additional 823 motorcyclists would have been saved had they worn a helmet.

This information was compiled by the National Safety Council

PEDESTRIAN INJURY DATA SOURCES

This information came from the Pedestrian Safety Workshop which took place during the June 16th King County Traffic Safety Coalition Meeting.

If you are at all interested or concerned about pedestrian safety, below is a wealth of Internet resources and data.

ONLINE RESOURCES:

--Washington State DOT collision data: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/accidentannual.htm

--Washington Traffic Safety Commission FARS data: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa/fars.html#FARSq

--Washington Traffic Safety Commission recent fatality data: http://www.wtsc.wa.gov/research/collisiondata.php.

--King County Medical Examiner's Office: http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/examiner.aspx

--Washington State Trauma Registry: contact Ann Glusker for more information

--State Department of Health Injury page: http://www.doh.wa.gov/Data/Injury.htm

--WISQARS http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html

--Federal Highway Safety Information System data (comes from state data so it may overlap substantially): http://www.hsisinfo.org/hsis.cfm?num=5&page=1

--ATSIP links page http://www.atsip.org/index.php?/atsip/links

--CIREN http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.1c5bf5af32c6dfd24ec86e10dba046a0/

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS:

--Harborview pedestrian injury publications: http://depts.washington.edu/hiprc/pedinj.html

--FeetFirst maps: http://www.feetfirst.info/mapping/index_html

--King County pedestrian fatalities report:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/injury/PedestrianReport.aspx

--TRIS (Transportation Research Information Services) website (abstracts and full-text documents on virtually anything transportation related- type in search term “pedestrian”): http://search.bts.gov/tris/searchinput.do

--Washington State Department of Transportation 'Better Decisions Through Better Data':
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/TDOCommunicationPlan.pdf

--Washington State DOT collision data reports: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/accidentannual.htm and
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/PDF_and_ZIP_Files/2006_Annual_Collision_Data_Summary_-_All_Roads.pdf

--Report on King County, “Managing Pedestrian Safety I: Injury Severity” by Anne Vernez Moudon, Lin Lin, and Phil Hurvitz: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/671.1.pdf

DATA CONTACTS/ DATA REQUESTS:
Ann Glusker and Eva Wong
Public Health-Seattle & King County
(206) 296-2776
data.request@kingcounty.gov

Dick Doane
Washington Traffic Safety Commission
(360) 725-9894
ddoane@WTSC.WA.GOV

Geneva Hawkins
Washington State Department of Transportation Collision Data & Analysis
(360) 570-2490
hawking@wsdot.wa.gov

Washington State DOT "Request for Collision Data" form: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tdo/collisiondatarequest.htm

Driving Tips for Summer Trips

This is from our friends at the Canada Safety Council...

More fatalities occur on Canadian roads during the summer months than at any other time of year, including the winter holiday season. Alcohol, fatigue and aggressive driving are often implicated in these tragedies. Whether you’re out for a day trip, travelling to the cottage or on a cross-country holiday, the Canada Safety Council urges all Canadians to put safety first when you set out on your summer travels.

Prepare your vehicle
Before leaving on vacation, have your vehicle checked to make sure everything is working properly. Repair or replace worn parts to avoid the worry and time-consuming costly repairs that could ruin your trip. Check fluid levels and tire pressure. Make sure all lights work, including signal lights.

Keep your passengers safe
Make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled up properly at all times. Buckling up is the single most effective thing you can do to keep yourself and your passengers safe while on the road.

If you are travelling with young children, make sure to make regular stops. Bring plenty of items to keep them occupied. Special travel games and songs also help.

Drive defensively
Drive at a safe speed. Speeding increases the likelihood and severity of a crash. The faster a vehicle is moving, the less time the driver has to react to a hazard, and for other road users to react to that vehicle. A speeding vehicle requires more time and distance to stop. Leave plenty of distance between yourself and the vehicle ahead. Apply the three second rule so you can see around the car ahead and plan a manoeuvre to avoid potential dangers, add more time if you have a heavier vehicle, and in poor weather conditions.

The Canada Safety Council estimates that 85 per cent of collisions are preventable. But simply being in the right will not save you from injury or death. You must be prepared for the unsafe actions of other motorists or for poor driving conditions.

Obey all signs and signals, including speed limits, traffic lights, stop signs and railway crossings. If you drive with a wireless phone, avoid unnecessary calls and always make the driving task your top priority. Absolutely never drink and drive.

Stay alert
Canadians often travel long distances when they go on vacation. This creates a temptation to keep driving for extended periods even when tired. On top of this, routes can be quite monotonous, another factor that can make a driver sleepy. Get a good sleep before leaving on a long trip. Fatigue is a form of impairment; so don't give in to that temptation to push on. If you started early, stop early. Rest stops are important. A break keeps the driver alert by promoting blood circulation, makes the trip more pleasant for passengers and lets the vehicle cool down.

Carrying a heavy load or towing a trailer
Before you tow a trailer or haul a load, make sure your vehicle is properly equipped for the job. Check your owner's manual or if in doubt contact your vehicle dealer. Check that your rear view mirrors give a clear view of the road behind. Driving a heavily loaded car or towing a trailer means you need more space to stop or pass. Leave plenty of distance between yourself and the vehicle ahead. Keep your distance - at least three seconds for each six metres (20 ft.) of vehicle length. For conditions that are less than ideal, increase the following distance. If cars cut in front of you, drop back to keep your separation. When traveling slower than the flow of traffic, be courteous. Pull over where possible to let faster vehicles pass.

Share the road
With the warmer weather, comes the prevalence of vulnerable roads users. Motorists must be cautious of cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. Always be on the lookout for and yield to vulnerable road users, even if they don't have the right-of-way. Summer also brings increased construction on our roads and highways. Be prepared to stop or slow down in construction zones.

Drive safely and have a happy travelling season!

For more information, please contact:

Valerie Powell
Communications and Media Program Coordinator
Canada Safety Council
(613) 739-1535 (ext. 228)
www.safety-council.org

Safety is Glamorous

AAA working w/ Glamour Magazine to do an article on safe driving. In addition to providing tips from AAA, they are looking for women in their 20s or 30s who survived a severe auto crash and would be willing to share their story and why they believe being safe behind the wheel is important. Pictures from the crash would be ideal. If you know of someone who may be interested, please have them contact:

Christie Hyde
Manager, Automotive & Traffic Safety Programs
AAA National Public Relations
1000 AAA Drive, MS 75, Heathrow, FL 32746
Office: 407-444-8003
Fax: 407-444-8030

OR

Jennifer Cook
AAA Washington | Public Relations Manager
(P) 425-646-2055 | (F) 425-467-7729
JenniferCook@aaawin.com | AAA.com

Child Passenger Seats

The linked news report breaks my heart! There is no valid reason to not have your child properly secured while in a moving vehicle. An innocent life was lost, and tragically the means - a properly installed and fitted child seat - that potentially could have allowed the baby to "ride down" the collision forces was available, but unused in the back seat.

IF you have any questions about the use of child seats; how to install in your vehicle, how to choose the right type of seat for your child, Please, please contact Evergreen Safety Council or come to the Cascade Neighborhood Farmer's Market (Pontius Ave North between Harrison and Taylor streets) on Thursday afternoons. Evergreen has a booth with child passenger seating information and offers FREE car seat checks in our parking lot.

Stocking Your Company’s First Aid Kit

Since the early 1990s, when the federal government put laws in place requiring that employers provide first aid supplies to workers in case of an accident or other emergency, most companies have remained more cognizant of their first aid kit's contents.

Whatever the work setting, there is a fair amount of overlap in first aid kits. Most kits include:
-scissors
-disposable gloves
-gauze
-band-aids
-pain relieving medications.

Companies should also know that items such as biohazard bags and breathing barriers merit a place alongside the aspirin and cold packs. Items such as safety goggles and breathing barriers for people administering first aid or CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) are now commonplace.

Employers must recognize the difference between the work environments of offices, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities. At operations where there is a greater risk of losing a limb or suffering a severe cut, first aid protocols must be followed for wound care, preserving the body part and disposing of the materials used to clean up any blood spill.

Biohazard kits—which need to supplement a first-aid kit—typically contain:
-a higher quality pair of gloves
-a body fluid encapsulate
-disposable waste scoops
-a biohazard waste bag
-wipes
-sanitizing solutions

First aid supplies should be regularly checked and re-stocked to ensure that supplies are in place for when employees use a bandage or take an aspirin in a non-emergency situation. Taking care of minor wounds is important but first aid can also help in more serious situations until the injuries can get professional medical attention.

Also, don't forget to keep a selection of occupational safety products on hand to help prevent minor injuries such as:
-safety glasses
-hard hats
-ear plugs
-work gloves, etc.

When it comes to first aid and other safety training remember Evergreen Safety Council is your place to find the answers. For more infomration on available training visit our website.

Secure Your Load

A loose bucket rolling around I-90 was blamed for yesterday afternoon's multiple car/semi pile-up. See the news story and pictures.

Evergreen Safety Council offers a FREE online training on how to properly Secure Your Load. This 1-hour training session provides a lot of information for anyone who might be hauling items to the dump, moving furniture or carrying work supplies around in a truck bed.

With the beautiful weather we are having here in the northwest, if you are planning on taking some yard waste to the transfer station, hauling your boat with all its toys to the lake, or filling up the back of your pickup as you hit the road for the weekend - take some time out of your day to ensure you are keeping those behind you safe. It might even save you a ticket.

Report vehicles whose loads aren't secure by calling the WA State Litter Reporting Hotline: 1-866-548-8371.

Child Safety Seat Check Thurdays

Today is the South Lake Union Farmers' Market and once again we will be setting up the pop-up tent in our parking lot, putting out our signs, and performing free child safety seat checks from about 2:00 - 4:30 pm. We will also have a selection of brochures, informational pamphlets and fun give-aways available.

If this time frame doesn't work for you, please contact Safety Norm at norm@esc.org or 800-521-0778 to set up a free appointment.

Come on out and visit us - its a beautiful day.

Safety & Health Solutions Newsletter

Evergreen Safety Council produces a monthly newsletter covering a variety of safety topics. Each month we will provide a link here to the online PDF. If you would prefer to sign up to receive an electronic copy via email or hard copy via the mail, please click here. This link will also take you to a full archive with over four years of past issues.

So pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back and read all about what's going on in the world of safety & health.

In Memory of Martin Brown

Safety professional Martin Brown, a long-time friend of the Evergreen Safety Council and ASSE Emeritus, passed away this week after a short illness.

Martin was well-known in the local safety community having worked for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries for many years. He will be greatly missed.

The Puget Sound ASSE Chapter will provide a remembrance for him once they learn the family's wishes. If any of you have any fond memories or other pertinent information about Martin and his accomplishments, please feel free to share them.

Services will be held on Monday, July 13th at Evergreen Washelli in Seattle. If you would like more information on the services or to send condolences to his wife and family, please contact our office and we will provide you the contact information.