May 22nd, 2013
Administrator
New rules proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services would require workers in all child-care centers that accept government subsidies to be trained in first-aid procedures and submit to background checks. The centers will also be subject to quality ratings, monitoring and unannounced inspections.
The move comes after a growing number of high-profile cases of children who have been injured or died in day care. About 1.6 million U.S. kids attend daycare using government subsidies in the form of vouchers, but these facilities are regulated by a patchwork of state rules that critics call inadequate. As many as one in five children using vouchers for child care are in unlicensed, unregulated settings with no health and safety requirements.
Source: The Washington Post | Click here for the full article
Posted in Children's Safety, Expert Witness Testimony, Latest News, Playground Safety, Poison Prevention, Safety Issues
Tags: background checks, Boster Kobayashi & Associates, child care centers, Children's safety, deaths, first-aid procedures, government, government subsidies, HHS, injuries, inspections, standards, vouchers
May 22nd, 2013
Administrator
No more excuses. It’s time to stop texting and driving. While we’re all saying we’ve stopped, a new poll by AT&T proves otherwise.
According to the National Safety Council, approximately 210,000 accidents in 2011 involved a driver who was texting. Not scary enough? How about the fact that 9 drivers a day are killed by distracted driving? That’s what the Center for Disease Control reports. Yet every minute of every day thousands of drivers have their phones in their hands instead of their hands on the wheel. This epidemic is getting, well, out of hand.
As part of their “It Can Wait” campaign, AT&T has taken a lead in the charge toward changing our distracted driving habits. You’ve probably seen their emotional commercials where family and friends share their stories of loss as a result of texting behind the wheel. As a next step to raise awareness, AT&T polled 1,000 adults about this dangerous behavior. According to a story published today by CBS New York, the cell provider discovered that nearly 49% of those polled admitted to texting while driving. Embarrassingly, this is 6% higher than the number of teens who admitted to texting. Yet of those polled, 98% said they knew it was dangerous. So, unfortunately, adults are not doing a very good job of setting a safe-driving example for the younger generation.
What now? While legislators nationwide scramble to think up new ways to promote safety and discourage this dangerous habit, there’s one simple way for all of us to take action: Put down your phone. To hold ourselves accountable, we can take a pledge, like the one supplied by AT&T, and publicly state our intent to drive safer.
Still not sure how to curb the habit? We have several great tips on how to break the texting addiction here on our site, including the most basic step of all — turn your phone off.
Source: idrivesafely.com
Posted in Biomechanical Engineering, Children's Safety, Distracted Driving, Expert Witness Testimony, Latest News, Safety Issues, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Issues
Tags: accident reconstruction, biomechanical engineering, Boster Kobayashi & Associates, car crashes, cell phones, Distracted Driving, fatal crashes, National Safety Council, statistics, texting, Traffic Engineering
May 21st, 2013
Administrator
The small-overlap crash test models collisions occurring when a vehicle hits a hard barrier with just a quarter of its bumper, which concentrates force in a small area unprotected by strong safety structures built into most new vehicles. Such crashes cause 25 percent of of serious injuries or deaths in frontal collisions but many small SUVs fared poorly in recent round of testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Only the 2013 Subaru Forrester and 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport performed well, while five SUVs were rated “poor”, with the worst marks going to the Ford Escape. Most of the SUVs tested, however, have performed well on other types of safety tests.
Source: CBS News | Click here for the full article
Posted in Biomechanical Engineering, Expert Witness Testimony, Latest News, Safety Issues, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Issues
Tags: accident reconstruction, biomechanical engineering, Boster Kobayashi & Associates, bumper, collision, deaths, expert witness testimony, frontal collisions, highway engineering, injuries, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, safety tests, SUV, vehicle
May 21st, 2013
Administrator
More construction workers die from falls than from any other on-the-job injury. Fatal falls and serious injuries may result from inadequate guarding and fall protection for work around skylights. This video explains the events that led to a roofing supervisor’s death after he fell 30 feet through a warehouse roof skylight onto a floor. Photographs from the fatality investigation are supplemented with scenes recreated by co-workers who were there that day. Fall prevention recommendations are highlighted. Roofing and construction companies are encouraged to include this video as part of a comprehensive safety training program (English, 5 min 40 sec).
The video was produced by the California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program (http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ohb-face) in the Occupational Health Branch of the California Department of Public Health.
Click here for video: http://youtu.be/I_8cymt7wlk
Source: American Society of Safety Engineers
Posted in Construction Safety, Expert Witness Testimony, Latest News, Safety Issues, Videos, Workplace Safety
Tags: Boster Kobayashi & Associates, construction companies, FACE, fall from roof, hazards of fatal falls on the job, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, OSHA, roofing companies, safety, safety training program, Workplace Safety
May 20th, 2013
Administrator
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration called the company, Autobuses Zacatecanos, an imminent safety hazard. It operated primarily between Zacatecanos, Mexico, and Los Angeles, but also had occasional trips to Denver, Phoenix and Chicago.
FMCSA officials said during a surprise inspection investigators found 34 safety violations, including failing to perform inspections and maintenance repairs and failing to require drivers to follow hours-of service restrictions. The investigation was part of a “Quick Strike” safety program launched last month. In the past three weeks, officials have shut bus companies in Washington D.C., Georgia, Ohio, New York and Utah.
Source: LandLineMag.com | Click to read the complete article
Posted in Expert Witness Testimony, Latest News, Recalls, Safety Issues, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Issues
Tags: "Quick Strike", accident reconstruction, Boster Kobayashi & Associates, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, highway engineering, inspections, maintenance repairs, safety hazard
May 20th, 2013
Administrator
According to an analysis by the National Safety Council, only 52% of fatal crashes in which evidence indicated driver cell phone use were coded in national data as involving cell phones. The report,
Crashes Involving Cell Phones: Challenges of Collecting and Reporting Reliable Crash Data, reviewed 180 fatal crashes from 2009 to 2011. Another notable finding of the report is that only one-half of crashes after which the driver admitted to using a cell phone during the incident were coded in Federal data as potentially caused by cell phone use.
The analysis also revealed great variation in reporting trends between different states. Some states, including Tennessee, Texas and California, reported significant numbers of crashes involving cell phone use while others, such as Louisiana, Nevada and Connecticut, reported none.
The National Safety Council stresses the importance of correcting statistics in regard to cell phone distracted driver crashes because inaccurate statistics leave the impression that activities like talking and texting while driving are not as problematic as they truly are. Find more information on the
National Safety Council’s website.
Posted in Biomechanical Engineering, Distracted Driving, Expert Witness Testimony, General, Motorcycle Safety, Safety Issues, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Issues
Tags: accident reconstruction, biomechanical engineering, Boster Kobayashi & Associates, car crashes, cell phones, Distracted Driving, fatal crashes, National Safety Council, statistics, texting, Traffic Engineering
May 17th, 2013
Administrator
World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on governments to take steps to prevent the 270,000 pedestrian fatalities that occur each year around the world. Incidents involving pedestrians account for 22% of road traffic deaths, and according to WHO officials, over 5,000 pedestrians are killed each week worldwide.
- Adopt New Laws and Enforce Existing Ones. These laws include ones meant to reduce speeding, drinking and driving, cell phone use while driving and other forms of distracted driving.
- Install Infrastructure to Protect Pedestrians. This refers to providing sidewalks, crosswalks, overpasses, underpasses, refuge islands and raised medians to pedestrians as well as placing speed bumps, rumble strips and chicanes on roadways to slow cars and improving lighting along roads.
- Create Pedestrian Zones in City Centers. This can be accomplished by restricting vehicular access.
- Improve Mass Transit Route Design.
- Develop and Enforce Vehicle Design Standards for Pedestrian Protection. Soft vehicle fronts are one example.
- Organize and/or Enhance Trauma Care Systems. This will guarantee prompt treatment for those with life-threatening injuries.
Source: American Society of Safety Engineers
Posted in Alcohol & Safety, Biomechanical Engineering, Distracted Driving, Expert Witness Testimony, Latest News, Motorcycle Safety, Safety Issues, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Issues
Tags: accident reconstruction, biomechanical engineering, Boster Kobayashi & Associates, Distracted Driving, drunk driving, expert witness testimony, pedestrian fatalities, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrians, speeding, Traffic Engineering, WHO
May 16th, 2013
Administrator
In its 10 Reasons Why You Need Office Ergonomics infographic, Humantech groups the consequences of not having an office ergonomics program into three categories:
- Pain. Implementing an office ergonomics program can help reduce the job-related discomfort and pain experienced by office workers. “By providing employees with proper training in how to set up a workstation, along with the right tools and equipment, injury and illness rates decline and employees are more productive,” Humantech says.
- Cost. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for one-third of injury and illness costs in U.S. businesses. Setting up a workstation based on the user’s anthropometry promotes good “sitting hygiene” and eliminates the postures that lead to MSDs.
- Changing Trends. ”The workplace is constantly changing,” Humantech explains. “With advances in technology, people are sitting more, working longer, and working from home and other non-office locations.”
Posted in Biomechanical Engineering, Expert Witness Testimony, Latest News, Safety Issues, Workplace Safety
Tags: Boster Kobayashi & Associates, employees, equipment, ergonomics, illness rates, increase productivity, infographic, injury rates, job-related discomfort, job-related pain, office workers, training, Workplace Safety, workstation
May 15th, 2013
Administrator
The National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states change the minimum blood-alcohol concentration from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent or less. Since Utah became the first state to adopt the 0.08 standard 30 years ago, the number of Americans killed in alcohol-related crashes has fallen by nearly half, but almost 10,000 still die every year.
The head of the NTSB, Deborah Hersman, said the U.S. lags other nations in cutting drunken-driving fatalities. The NTSB has no enforcement power over the states, but Congress in 2000 prompted holdout states to adopt the 0.08 level by moving to withhold highway construction money.
Source: The NY Times | Click here to read the complete article
Posted in Alcohol & Safety, Expert Witness Testimony, Latest News, Safety Issues, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Issues
Tags: accident reconstruction, alcohol-related crashes, blood-alcohol concentration, Boster Kobayashi & Associates, breathalyzer, drunk driving, drunken-driving fatalities, DUI, highway construction money, NTSB
May 14th, 2013
Administrator
That long-feared milestone was disclosed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, based on readings at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.
The development was a reminder that decades of efforts to bring emissions under control are faltering. The best evidence suggests the amount of the gas in the air has not been this high for at least three million years, before humans evolved, and scientists believe the rise portends large changes in the climate and the sea levels. Carbon dioxide is responsible for 63 percent of the warming attributable to greenhouse gases, NOAA officials say.
Source: The NY Times | Click here to read the complete article
Posted in Latest News, Safety Issues
Tags: accident reconstruction, Boster Kobayashi & Associates, Carbon dioxide, emissions, expert witness testimony, greenhouse gases, NOAA, observatory
