The penalty being sought against Toyota would be the largest civil penalty ever assessed against an auto manufacturer by NHTSA.
The rule, which will go into effect on June 1, 2012, will require interstate commercial truck and bus companies with multiple hours-of-service violations to install electronic on-board recorders in all their vehicles.
NHTSA says distracted or inattentive driving has become a national epidemic, accounting for an estimated 6,000 deaths and half-a-million injuries in 2008. In 2009, more than 200 distracted driving bills were under consideration by state legislatures, and the pace is expected to increase this year.
While many people understand the increased crash risks caused by drivers texting while driving, the lack of understanding about the dangers of hands-free phones remains a challenge, says the council, which has produced a study explaining the limitations of the human brain as it pertains to multitasking.
ATA supports states’ efforts to ban texting by automobile drivers and said it will continue to work with affiliated state trucking associations and stakeholder groups to make that happen.
During FY 2009, field inspectors conducted 59 inspections of high-hazard federal worksites and found 336 violations of OSHA safety and health standards -- more than twice the number cited in 2008.
“Our inspections have shown that the company has not fully addressed ongoing safety issues that expose employees to serious harm,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Len Welsh. “Our actions today continue to send a strong message to this company that they cannot allow such hazards to exist which put the safety of their employees in jeopardy.”
"These students' outstanding work demonstrates that the future of epidemiology holds great promise," said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Researchers from Columbia University and MixedInk studied the health information content of Twitter updates mentioning antibiotics to determine how people are sharing information and assess the proliferation of misinformation.
"First, it's easy to understand how valuable and vulnerable our eyes are, so it's an easy platform for starting a persuasive safety conversation," said David Iannelli, senior product manager for Uvex.
ISEA recommended “that NIOSH consider conducting additional tests of representative filtering facepiece and elastomeric respirators with multiple trials, donnings, and panels. Results would lead to a better understanding of between- and within-subject variability and may suggest methods for simulating and predicting fit performance for the population of respirator wearers.”
Citations address the farm's failure to provide a guarding mechanism to prevent power-driven machinery from accidentally falling into the earthen manure storage facility, alteration of seat belts on that machinery, and the lack of adequate training and instruction for operators of the skid-steer machinery, among other things.
The type and size of a company really don't matter because a well-executed safety incentive program will serve them well, says industry veteran Sean Roark, CPIM.
When illnesses strike — such as seasonal flu, H1N1, or MRSA — how do you protect your workers and do your part to stop contagious infections from spreading to unsuspecting workers and crippling the productivity of your organization, with high absenteeism from sick leave or mass panic?
Cutting back on safety expenses could amount to gambling with not only the health and well-being of workers, but also with profits and perhaps the company itself.
The free, one-hour event will focus in part on the new A10.47 standard, which covers flagger safety, run over/back over prevention, equipment operator safety, illumination, PPE, and more.
Ongoing reminders and a dedicated effort to keep important safety information in front of operators and pedestrians help to make safety top-of-mind for employees.
Manufacturing a protective boot that can meet exacting national standards is challenging enough. When the relevant industry adds its own performance testing to the mix, as the aluminum smelter industry around the world has done, the challenge grows — but this happens for all the right reasons.
The four-axis design of the ULTRA™ Drilling System allows it to walk in eight directions; the company, Global Energy Services, said it enables natural gas drillers to raise the rig faster and more safely, without using cranes.
Throwing sharps containers, red bags, and spill cleanup materials into the trash sends up a red flag to commercial or municipal trash collectors because they are not allowed to take this waste.