Washington's "New" Cell Phone Law

There is a new web page on why you should Hang Up & Drive, which explains the new cell phone law.

We are referring to it as the "new" law just to avoid confusion. We all know it's been around for a few years, and is just now becoming truly enforceable, although there are new elements with the teen restrictions.

What officers will cite for after June 10th when the primary texting and cell phone law goes into effect:
RCW 46.61.667 is the law concerning talking on a cell phone and driving which is $124 fine.
RCW 46.61.668 is the law concerning texting while driving which is $124 fine.
RCW 46.20.055 is the law concerning violations of an instruction permit which is a $124 fine.
RCW 46.20.075 is the law concerning violations of an IDL which is a $124 fine.

The HB6345 makes it a primary offense for a person with an instruction permit or Intermediate Drivers License to be talking on a cell phone. The rest of the statutes remain the same, which are secondary violations.

Officers will be stopping drivers for talking or texting under those laws no matter what their ages are. Then once stopped and they hand over an instruction permit or IDL, they could be cited in addition to the cell/text law for violating their instruction permit or IDL.

For more information contact the Washington Traffic Safety Commission or the Washington State Patrol.

Living with Critters

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council
One benefit of living in Northwest is that one doesn’t need to travel far from the city to be in relatively “wild” country. However, as the population density increases, cities grow and housing developments continue to move out into the country, the chances of human / wildlife encounters increases proportionately.

We live in the country, in a heavily wooded area, where the typical property ranges anywhere from two to ten or more acres. As such, encounters with wild life are relatively frequent. Rabbits, ‘possum, coyotes, raccoons and deer all seem to think my vegetable garden and fruit trees – not to mention my tulips and daffodils – were planted solely for their benefit. A recent event caused me to do some research and through this newsletter, share the information with you, our readers.

At last count, we have a dozen or more species of birds that frequent our feeders, and yes we do enjoy watching them as they feed. Mother’s Day morning we opened the curtains to find that our main feeder was missing! Closer inspection disclosed that the feeder which is supported on a pipe system from our deck was lying on the ground, empty! More surprising, the supporting steel pipe was broken in half. An afternoon walk on our trail through our woods, gave us a clue as to the damaged feeder; in a muddy area we found tracks, black bear tracks, and FRESH black bear tracks.

While not all of us live in the woods, most of us have opportunity to either go camping or at least make a day trip for a picnic, into wooded areas. Encountering a black bear is not all that uncommon; knowing a few facts can keep that encounter from turning “bad”.

According to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the statewide black bear population in Washington likely ranges between 25,000 and 30,000 animals. Bears usually avoid people, but when they do come into close proximity of each other, the bear’s strength and surprising speed make it potentially dangerous. Most confrontations with bears are the result of a surprise encounter at close range. All bears should be given plenty of respect and room to retreat without feeling threatened.

So here are some bear facts and words of advice from WDFW:

• In the spring, black bear diets consist mostly of herbaceous plants, from emerging grasses and sedges to horsetail and various flowering plants.
• In summer, bears typically add ants, bees, grubs, and a host of later emerging plants to their diets.
• During late summer and fall, bears typically shift their diets toward tree fruits, berries, and nuts, but they still may consume a variety of plants.
• Fall is a critical season for black bears and they commonly acquire most of their annual fat accumulation at this time. Bears may forage up to 20 hours a day during fall, increasing their body weight by 35 percent in preparation for winter.

Bears tend to avoid humans. However, human-habituated bears are bears that, because of prolonged exposure to people, have lost their natural fear or wariness around people. Human-food-conditioned bears are those that associate people with food. Such bears can become aggressive in their pursuit of a meal.

State wildlife offices receive hundreds of black bear complaints each year regarding urban sightings, property damage, attacks on livestock, and bear/human confrontations. The number one reason for conflict is the result of irresponsibility on the part of people: Access to trash, pet food, bird feeders, and improper storage of food while camping, make up the majority of the calls.

Don’t feed bears. Often people leave food out for bears so they can take pictures of them or show them to visiting friends. Over 90 percent of bear/human conflicts result from bears being conditioned to associate food with humans. A wild bear can become permanently food-conditioned after only one handout experience. The sad reality is that these bears will likely die, being killed by someone protecting their property, or by a wildlife manager having to remove a potentially dangerous bear.

Manage your garbage. Bears will expend a great amount of time and energy digging under, breaking down, or crawling over barriers to get food, including garbage. If you have a pickup service, put garbage out shortly before the truck arrives—not the night before. If you’re leaving several days before pickup, haul your garbage to a dump. If necessary, frequently haul your garbage to a dumpsite to avoid odors.

Remove other attractants. Remove bird feeders (suet and seed feeders), which allow residue to build up on the ground below them, from early March through November. Bring in hummingbird feeders at night. (Better yet: plant bird-friendly landscapes and don’t use feeders.) Harvest orchard fruit from trees regularly (rotting fruit left on the ground is a powerful bear attractant). If you have bear problems and do not use your fruit trees, consider removing them. Do not feed pets outside. Clean barbecue grills after each use. Wash the grill or burn off smells, food residue, and grease; store the equipment in a shed or garage and keep the door closed. If you can smell your barbecue then it is not clean enough. Avoid the use of outdoor refrigerators—they will attract bears.

To avoid encounters with black bears while hiking or camping:

• Keep a clean camp. Put garbage in wildlife-resistant trash containers.
• Store food in double plastic bags and, when possible, place the bags in your vehicle's trunk or in wildlife-resistant food lockers. Double-wrapped food may also be placed in a backpack or other container and hang it from a tree branch at least 10 feet above the ground and 4 feet out from the tree trunk. Never store food in your tent.
• When camping, sleep at least 100 yards from your cooking area and food storage site.
• Hike in small groups and make your presence known by singing or talking.
• Keep small children close and on trails.

If you come in close contact with a bear:

• Stay calm and avoid direct eye contact, which could elicit a charge. Try to stay upwind and identify yourself as a human by standing up, talking and waving your hands above your head.
• Do not approach the bear, particularly if cubs are present. Give the bear plenty of room.
• If you cannot safely move away from the bear, and the animal does not flee, try to scare it away by clapping your hands or yelling.
• If the bear attacks, fight back aggressively. As a last resort, should the attack continue, protect yourself by curling into a ball or lying on the ground on your stomach and playing dead.

Road Debris

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

I commute a relatively long distance from my home to my office. While our modern highway system does a pretty good job of moving traffic, there is not a week that goes by when I don’t see at least one “situation” caused by the loss of part of the load from a vehicle. Even this morning I saw a car suddenly swerve into and back out of the next lane as they attempted to dodge heavy chunks of tree bark that was falling off of a load of logs, on a truck in the adjacent lane.

If your business operates trucks, and those trucks carry a load of some kind, you must insure that the load is secured. Sounds easy enough, but apparently this is not always the case. The photo shows a piece of debris removed from the north bound lanes of Interstate 5, in the early part of the morning commute, a few weeks ago, at the Ship Canal Bridge. Lanes on the bridge were temporarily blocked as Troopers quickly removed the over 200 pound steel ramp from the left 2 lanes, but not before nearly a dozen motorists ran over it.

Thankfully, there were no injuries as a result of the lost debris and most of the damage consisted of flat tires and bent wheels. However; the steel ramp did puncture the fuel tank of one pickup truck causing a small gas leak and fire, which was quickly contained.

The stories like this one never seem to end. Most of us “regular drivers” have our own stories of dodging debris either already on the road, or unexpectedly falling from a truck rolling along beside us. Even those weekend trips to the transfer station require that we secure our load properly so nothing escapes in route. Take a few extra moments if you are carrying a load on your vehicle to insure it is proper secured. Always keep a safe following distance (4 seconds or more behind the vehicle ahead) to insure you have adequate space and time to react in case part of their load should drop off. If you have questions regarding how best to secure your load, ESC offers a free online training.

If you have drivers working for you, or simply want to refresh your driving skills, contact ESC about our Eversafe Driving Course; do all you can to NOT become another roadway statistic.

A large “Thank You” to the Washington State Patrol for the information in this posting.

Record low traffic fatalities celebrated by law enforcement, community partners

New cell phone law marks next safety step, starts June 10
Press Release from King County Public Health
Contact: James Apa 206-205-5442; Matías Valenzuela 206-205-3331
KING COUNTY, WA – Local law enforcement and community partners in traffic safety were honored Tuesday for their contributions to making King County residents safer today on the roads than ever, and their commitment in working to reduce traffic fatalities even further.

On average, 24 fewer people died annually on average in 2007 and 2008, compared with the 2002-2006 period, a drop from an annual average of 118 deaths annually to 94. This downward trend appears to continue in 2009, with preliminary data showing a further drop to 76 deaths from crashes.

“Safe streets are critical for a safe community, and I want to thank our all our partners for their important work in helping save lives,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “This drop in traffic fatalities is a great sign that tools like strong enforcement, public education and traffic engineering improvements are working and I look forward to helping King County build on its success.”

Several factors may be contributing to the drop in fatalities, including strong enforcement of driving under the influence (DUI) laws, better automotive safety equipment, seat belt usage, changes in driving habits, and traffic engineering improvements. While traffic fatalities are dropping nationally and statewide, King County’s traffic fatality rate is the lowest in the state.

As key partners in traffic safety, DUI patrol officers from 28 local law enforcement agencies were recognized for their work in contributing to safe roads by arresting drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Impaired driving is the leading cause of traffic fatalities in King County. Since 1999, officers working X-52 DUI and other impaired driving emphasis patrols have made 22,575 driver contacts and arrested 6,123 impaired drivers.

“I could not be more pleased to see that the hard work of Sheriff's deputies and all law enforcement officers has helped to reduce traffic fatalities,” said King County Sheriff Sue Rahr. “Traffic safety is just one component of overall public safety, but an extremely important one. My pledge is to continue this hard work for added success well into the future.”

Even with recent successes, traffic safety remains a serious concern. From 2004 to 2008, 568 people died in traffic crashes in King County, and another 98,000 were injured. Crashes kill and injure all road users: drivers and passengers as well as motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

“Traffic safety is a public health issue that affects everyone who wants to move on our streets and sidewalks,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “Giving people easily accessible options where they can feel and stay safe on foot and by bike are key to healthier communities.”

New cell phone law goes into effect June 10

As a next step toward the statewide Target Zero goal of no traffic fatalities by 2030, a new cell phone law will go into effect on June 10. Under the new state law, holding a cell phone or texting when driving becomes a primary offense and teen drivers with an intermediate driver license are not allowed to use any electronic device while driving.

State Senator Tracey Eide and State Representative Reuven Carlyle, sponsors of the legislation in the Senate and the House, were recognized for their leadership, as was the community-led Driven to Distraction taskforce that advocated effectively for the law.

“Studies show that talking on a handheld cell phone while driving is equivalent to driving drunk, and drivers who text are 23 times more likely to be in a crash compared to those who don't,” Eide said. “It’s time to park the phone and drive the car.”

For over a decade, the King County Traffic Safety Coalition (now known as the King County Target Zero Task Force) has brought together law enforcement, public health and community partners to reduce traffic deaths and injuries. In partnership with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, they are working towards the Target Zero goal of zero traffic fatalities by the year 2030.

ESC
Facets of these topics were presented at the 2010 Washington Traffic Safety Conference last month. For highlights of the presentations, visit the ESC website, or for the photo album visit ESC's facebook page. If you or your employees drive in Oregon, mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 21st for the Oregon Employers for Traffic Safety Conference.

Are You Competitive?

Contributed by Roger Hurst, Evergreen Safety Council
How do you measure Return On Investment (ROI) for your safety training? First you need a plan on what you want to measure. You want to look at Total Benefits, and of course Total Costs. Here is a formula you may use:

(total benefit – total costs) = _____ x 100 = ROI
Total costs

You need to see results on your dollars spent on safety training. You need proof that safety training is actually helping people learn. You need to see bottom-line results.

The most successful companies who want to remain competitive must continually look for ways to better train their employees. You need to manage Human Capital. You need to invest in workers, encouraging workers to invest in themselves and provide a good learning environment.

Training expenditures are a unique form of business expense. Unlike other expenses, training costs represent an investment by the firm to the employees. You must focus not only on the training but on the training’s results.

Let us know if we may help you with your safety training requirements. We are the folks who bring you Total Safety Compliance, the complete program to save you time and costs.

Give Roger a call today, 206-382-4090. He will be able to answer any questions you might have.