Friday Five: On Signs, Streets, and OSHA

Friday, February 24, 2012 —

• Stolen Street Signs Raise Safety Concerns Most stories that you hear about street-sign theft involve drunken rowdiness, but in Montgomery County, North Carolina, thieves are stealing street signs for their aluminum. The aluminum burglars may make a profit, but they also endanger the public by stealing necessary street signs at a cost of over $1000 to the county.

Coldwater industry faces fines from OSHA The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration may charge Basic Grain Products Inc. up to $112,000 for their 13 safety violations. The company failed to take basic measures to ensure hazardous energy sources were secured, a failure which led to worker injury. Maybe company management should pass the safety tests that they require employees to take.

• National Association of Sign Supply Distributors Joins Forces with International Sign Association The National Association of Sign Supply Distributors (NASSD) has linked up with the International Sign Association (ISA) in order to deliver additional services to sign supply distributors. These trade organizations will remain separate entities, but their partnership will help strengthen the industry.

 

• Safety Advocates Push for Rental Car Regulations Cally Houck, the mother of two sisters killed in 2004 by a malfunction in an Enterprise rental car, has helped Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety reach an agreement with Hertz that calls on Congress to increase its regulation of the rental car industry. The Senate hopes to attach an amendment addressing this issue to the upcoming Surface Transportation Bill.

• Volusia considers more beach safety measures With the busy beach season approaching, Volusia County officials met to discuss new safety precautions such as the banning on texting while driving on the beach. These changes reflect a few of the latest efforts made by these Florida officials, after two separate tragedies in which four-year-olds were run over and killed on the beach. Check out our current campaign against texting and driving for more ways to prevent unnecessary, automobile-related deaths.

– Z. Miller and A. Li