Safety Tidbits 8/18/08

Beware of the Unlicensed Driver
132,000 – The number of citations issued to unlicensed drivers in California last year.
10’s of 1000’s – The estimated number of illegal drivers in New York State alone.
117 – The number of driving-related deaths each day in America…117 deaths daily!
50 – The percent by which Oregon was able to reduce the number of illegal driving arrests by impounding vehicles of the offenders
20 – The percent of fatal crashes that involve a driver without a proper drivers’ license

A few tidbits about the almighty Greenback
1792 – The year Congress established the dollar as the monetary unit of the United States
1861 – The year Congress authorizes printing of paper money to fund the Civil War
1869 – The year George Washington makes his first appearance on the dollar bill
1929 – The year the size of U.S. currency is reduced by 30 percent
1944 – The U.S. dollar becomes the world currency for international trade.
1955 – As a Cold War statement, Congress orders ‘In God We Trust’ to appear on all paper currency. (See that actually do something right every once in a while)
1969 – The year the hundred dollar bill became the largest denomination available, as circulation of the $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 ceased.
1971 – The year President Nixon took the dollar off the gold standard (Reason: foreigners now held more U.S. paper currency than the U.S Government had in gold bullion)
04.22.08 – The day the dollar hit an all time low. 1 Euro = $1.60 USD

MSHA (and OSHA) is not ‘The Answer’
How many times have you heard someone say‘that is not an MSHA(OSHA) rule so we shouldn’t have to do it’ or ‘MSHA needs to hold employees accountable and fine them or nothing will ever change’?
News flash – the MSHAct will not be changing anytime soon and that is a good thing! We (managers, supervisors and employees) are the ones responsible for following and enforcing safety rules (MSHA regulations and more importantly company policies).

Remember: MSHA and OSHA are bottom line programs…employers must build from there. Employees must understand why companies have rules that are more stringent that those enforced by the state and/or federal government. It is to protect them!

Supervisors and managers need to make sure all employees (and contractors) are following applicable safety policies or be prepared to face the consequences. We all need to: Stop blaming MSHA and Start doing our jobs. Then we will get to ZERO! Ask yourself…
WWJWD --- What would John Wayne Do? (Hint: he’d do the right thing, and so shou YOU!).
Stop the Fatalities! 30 miners have already lost their lives this year…
Don’t you think it’s time to Step up and Speak out for Safety!

‘It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.’ -John Baptiste Moliére