Open Letter from Tom Odegaard

Open Letter

from Tom Odegaard, President/Executive Director, Evergreen Safety Council

Across America, motor vehicle collisions are the number one cause of workplace fatalities. Did you know that between 1998-2007 22% of all workplace fatalities in Washington were the result of roadway crashes? Did you know that each week, nearly 10 Washingtonians die on our roads?

My name is Tom Odegaard and as President of Evergreen Safety Council I would like to invite you to help us change that statistic.

Each year, our organization works in partnership with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to present a one-day Washington Traffic Safety Conference. Aimed at Washington organizations and businesses, we believe that if we can make an impact at work, individuals will carry the safe driving message home to their families…thus making the roads safer for everyone.

The 2010 Washington Traffic Safety Conference will be held in Burien at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center on May 20.

Our presenters include a nationally known researcher, a highly respected sleep medicine doctor, NHTSA and WTSC representatives as well as state Senator Tracey Eide who sponsored Washington’s new cell phone/texting law.

Topics being addressed include: distracted driving and Washington’s new cell phone/texting law; issues dealing with speed, nighttime driving, and worker/driver fatigue issues. We will also have presentations on the liability issues surrounding employees who are involved in substance abuse (including prescription drugs), and why it is important to train your employees.

We believe that every attendee will benefit from attending this conference.

Why should you, your co-workers and your business associates attend?
This conference can provide an immediate value for all attendees. By taking the information, forming a company policy, training employees and enforcing the policy for all drivers, incidents involving motor vehicles will be reduced. Reducing motor vehicle crashes has a direct, positive impact on the bottom line of all businesses through reducing lost time, repair costs, and insurance premiums.

Most importantly, by taking what is learned at this conference and applying it to their organization, an employee’s life may be saved. How do you put a value on that?

What can you do? We would appreciate it if you informed your friends, co-workers and associates of this conference and encourage them to attend.

Thank you and I hope to see you on May 20.

Sincerely,
Tom Odegaard

206-382-4090

"NO PHONE ZONE DAY" FRIDAY, APRIL 30

On Friday April 30, 2010, Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Studios are taking a stand against distracted driving, launching a new sponsored public service announcement campaign and joining forces with some of the country's preeminent transportation safety organizations to declare Friday, April 30th the first national "No Phone Zone Day." A large-scale effort to honor victims of distracted driving, "No Phone Zone Day" will also educate and activate Americans to end the deadly driving habits that kill nearly 6,000 Americans a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In addition, texting and distracted driving will be key topics at Evergreen Safety Council's Washington Traffic Safety Conference on May 20th in Burien.

National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) hosts the annual National Youth Traffic Safety Month (NYTSM) campaign held each May during prom, graduation, and the beginning of the summer driving season. The 2010 NYTSM focus is distracted driving prevention encouraging all youth to pledge not to use their phone while driving. "The mix of inexperienced drivers with phone use while driving is a deadly combination" said NOYS executive director Sandy Spavone. "NOYS youth leaders and coalition members working with Oprah's 'No Phone Zone Day' to prevent crashes caused by inattentive drivers is the perfect kick off to a month of activities led by youth for youth to address distracted driving. We encourage everyone to take the pledge."
This Friday April 30th, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will present a special live episode devoted to ending distracted driving. In conjunction with the episode, Harpo Studios is mobilizing communities to take action at "No Phone Zone Day" viewing rallies to be held in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles. The planned rallies will bring together victims' families, elected officials, advocacy organizations, parents, youth, and law enforcement to discuss best practices and steps to limit distracted driving in their own communities.

As part of the "No Phone Zone Day," NOYS encourages all youth to take the "No Phone Zone" pledge and ask every driver in their family to take the pledge as well. By signing Oprah's No Phone Zone pledge, drivers agree to make their car a "No Phone Zone" in one of the following ways:

• by not using their phones at all while driving,
• by agreeing to stop texting and use only hands-free calling, or
• by just not texting while they drive.

Studies show it's safest to not use your phone at all while driving. More than 185,000 people to date have signed Oprah's "No Phone Zone" pledge at Oprah.com. Many celebrities have already joined the cause, including Oscar® winners Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges and Mo'Nique, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, actress and icon Raquel Welch, Olympic superstar Shaun White, country music's Lady Antebellum, entertainer and entrepreneur Tyler Perry, the cast of TV's "Glee" and many more.

A 2008 NHTSA study indicated that at any given moment during the daylight hours, more than 800,000 vehicles are being driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone. According to a 2005 study for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, drivers are four times less likely to get into accidents serious enough to cause injury when they turn off their cell phones while behind the wheel.

For more information on "No Phone Zone Day," and to take the No Phone Zone pledge, please visit www.oprah.com/nophonezone.

For additional information on distracted driving, visit www.distraction.gov
To learn what you can do to improve traffic safety in Washington, plan on attending the Washington Traffic Safety Conference on May 20th in Burien.

Proper work flow leads to better safety

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

There’s an old joke about two workers along the side of the road. The first was digging a series of holes with a shovel, and following behind him, another worker was filling in the holes. When asked what they were doing, one worker explained that usually there were three on crew, and their job was to plant trees along the road side. However on this day, the second person in the crew, the one who actually placed the trees in the holes, was off on sick-leave. “Just ‘cause George isn’t here today, that don’t mean we can’t do our jobs!”

Yes it’s a corny story, but how many times do we go ahead with a task, taking an obvious risk, because the preliminary work is not completed, and perhaps put ourselves or others at risk when we do so? The following photo is a case in point.

Apparently, the road bed preparation, of this road widening project was finished and the paving crew was ready to go, and the paint-stripping crew wanted to take advantage of the sunny weather to get the lane marking completed, too . . . . . but the utilities company hadn’t yet gotten a crew out to relocate the pole. At least the hazard is marked with barrels, but barrels often get “bumped” out of the way, leaving this all too solid and unmoving utility pole in harm’s way.

Before you start a task, take a moment to list the others who may be affected by your work. Is someone else being put at risk, if you were to go out-of-sequence or skip a step in the process?

Following the proper work flow sequence is a major component of several of Evergreen Safety Council’s series of courses comprising our Safety & Health Specialist certification. If you have an interest in supporting safe work practices for your company, and want to have a better understanding of the spectrum of safety concepts of which you should be aware, contact us or check our the Safety & Health Specialist option on our website.

Washington State DOSH and Federal OSHA Directions and Current Focus

Contributed by Roger Hurst, Evergreen Safety Council

I would like to thank Dr. Michael Silverstein, L&I Manager of DOSH and Mr. Dale Cavanaugh, Assistant Regional Administrator OSHA Region 10, for making their presentations at the Puget Sound Safety Summit on April 14, 2010 in Seattle WA. They both gave informative presentations regarding their respective organizations and what businesses will be facing in the future.

They both felt the penalties for violations are too small to provide incentive for some employees to comply with the rules and regulations, and they felt by raising the penalties for violations would be appropriate. They felt American workers still face unacceptable hazards. More than 5,000 workers are killed on the job each year, more that 4 millions are injured and thousands more may become ill later on from occupational exposures. The workplace has changed since 1970 when some of the worker regulations first came into effect.

The Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAWA) changes the burden of proof from “willfully” to” knowingly”. Section 311 states that any employer who “knowingly” violates any standard, rule, or order that results in the death of an employee is subject to a fine and not more that 10 years in prison. Several businesses across our nation were sent letters in March of this year, stating they had reported higher rates of workplace injuries that the national average in their respective industries. The real message, and the intent of they letter, was “get your act together because a serious OSHA inspection may be coming your way soon.”

Most employers want to do the right thing. You should expect more aggressive enforcement for both DOSH and OSHA here in the Northwest. Training in workplace safety will definitely be a good addition to your current plans. Safer work places have a higher morale factor and job satisfaction and work efficiency improve. Get your employees involved in your health and safety training now. You will be glad you did. We here at Evergreen Safety Council will gladly help you with all your safety training needs. Call in and ask about our new Total Safety Compliance training system and customize it to your company. Please call Roger Hurst or Tina Bacon at 206-382-4090 to learn more.

AHA Stroke Study

Contributed by Eric Tofte, Director of Training, Evergreen Safety Council
According to the American Heart Association more young people are having strokes while older people are having fewer, according to data from Ohio and Kentucky presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2010.

The study highlights are:

• Stroke, often considered a disease of old age, is declining in the elderly and increasing at younger ages.
• The percentage of strokes occurring in people under age 45 has grown significantly since the 1990s.

To read the entire article please follow this link.