Rebecca “Becca” Weissbard, 22, of Manorville on Long Island, died after being thrown from her horse and having the animal fall on her during an event at HITS on the Hudson

Rebecca Weissbard wears her gold medal at the Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2013. From maccabiusa.com


By Diane Pineiro-Zucker, Daily Freeman


Posted: 09/01/16, 11:22 AM EDT 




SAUGERTIES >> A young woman who won a gold medal at an international equestrian competition died after being thrown from her horse and having the animal fall on her during an event at HITS on the Hudson, police said Thursday.

Rebecca “Becca” Weissbard, 22, of Manorville on Long Island, was pronounced dead at the scene, Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra said.

Saugerties police said officers responded to HITS (an acronym for Horse Shows in the Sun), 454 Washington Ave., at 1:17 p.m. Wednesday for a reported medical emergency. When officers arrived, emergency medical technicians from HITS already were administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation to Weissbard, police said.

Police said paramedics from Diaz Ambulance also responded to the scene but were unable to revive Weissbard.

Weissbard was on her second run through a 10-hurdle course and had just cleared the first hurdle when her horse struck a cross pole, Sinagra said. She was thrown from the animal, which then fell and landed on her, the chief said.


Sinagra said Weissbard’s mother was present and was the first person to come to her aid.

“The prayers of the Saugerties police are with the family,” the chief said.

A statement issued Thursday by HITS spokeswoman Emily Glass said: “It is with great sadness that HITS informs the equestrian community of an accident involving a talented young athlete. ... HITS extends its deepest sympathy to the athlete’s family and to the entire horse sport community who feels the impact of this significant loss.”

Glass said Weissbard’s death was the first fatality at HITS, which opened its Saugerties facility in 2004. She did not know the condition of Weissbard’s horse, named Remember Me.


On its Facebook page, the Hampton Classic Horse Show said: “The Long Island equestrian community is heartbroken that Becca Weissbard died in a riding accident yesterday,” and the group extended “deepest sympathy” to her family and friends.

The Chronicle of the Horse website said “Weissbard had won a 1.0-meter class” at HITS the day of the fatal accident.

According to the Maccabi USA website, Weissbard was a “phenomenal” athlete who won an individual gold medal for Maccabi USA’s Equestrian team at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel and helped her U.S. show jumping team take the silver medal.

Maccabi USA Executive Director Jed Margolis called Weissbard “a very outgoing and enthusiastic” athlete whose “impact was beyond the medal.”


Margolis said the Maccabiah Games are the third-largest international sports competition and include 30 sports and 9,000 athletes. He said the games are an effort to “build Jewish pride and to build a connection to the state of Israel and fellow Jewish athletes from around the world.”

Scientists’ warnings that the rise of the sea would eventually imperil the United States’ coastline are no longer theoretical.

Flooding of Coast, Caused by Global Warming, Has Already Begun

Scientists’ warnings that the rise of the sea would eventually
imperil the United States’ coastline are no longer theoretical.


By JUSTIN GILLIS 

SEPT. 3, 2016



NORFOLK, Va. — Huge vertical rulers are sprouting beside low spots in the streets here, so people can judge if the tidal floods that increasingly inundate their roads are too deep to drive through.

Five hundred miles down the Atlantic Coast, the only road to Tybee Island, Ga., is disappearing beneath the sea several times a year, cutting the town off from the mainland.

And another 500 miles on, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., increased tidal flooding is forcing the city to spend millions fixing battered roads and drains — and, at times, to send out giant vacuum trucks to suck saltwater off the streets.

For decades, as the global warming created by human emissions caused land ice to melt and ocean water to expand, scientists warned that the accelerating rise of the sea would eventually imperil the United States’ coastline.

Now, those warnings are no longer theoretical: The inundation of the coast has begun. The sea has crept up to the point that a high tide and a brisk wind are all it takes to send water pouring into streets and homes.

Federal scientists have documented a sharp jump in this nuisance flooding — often called “sunny-day flooding” — along both the East Coast and the Gulf Coast in recent years. The sea is now so near the brim in many places that they believe the problem is likely to worsen quickly. Shifts in the Pacific Ocean mean that the West Coast, partly spared over the past two decades, may be hit hard, too.

These tidal floods are often just a foot or two deep, but they can stop traffic, swamp basements, damage cars, kill lawns and forests, and poison wells with salt. Moreover, the high seas interfere with the drainage of storm water.

In coastal regions, that compounds the damage from the increasingly heavy rains plaguing the country, like those that recently caused extensive flooding in Louisiana. Scientists say these rains are also a consequence of human greenhouse emissions.

“Once impacts become noticeable, they’re going to be upon you quickly,” said William V. Sweet, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Silver Spring, Md., who is among the leaders in research on coastal inundation. “It’s not a hundred years off — it’s now.”

Local governments, under pressure from annoyed citizens, are beginning to act. Elections are being won on promises to invest money to protect against flooding. Miami Beach is leading the way, increasing local fees to finance a $400 million plan that includes raising streets, installing pumps and elevating sea walls.

In many of the worst-hit cities, mayors of both parties are sounding an alarm.

“I’m a Republican, but I also realize, by any objective analysis, the sea level is rising,” said Jason Buelterman, the mayor of tiny Tybee Island, one of the first Georgia communities to adopt a detailed climate plan.


 

But the local leaders say they cannot tackle this problem alone. They are pleading with state and federal governments for guidance and help, including billions to pay for flood walls, pumps and road improvements that would buy them time.

Yet Congress has largely ignored these pleas, and has even tried to block plans by the military to head off future problems at the numerous bases imperiled by a rising sea. A Republican congressman from Colorado, Ken Buck, recently called one military proposal part of a “radical climate change agenda.”

The gridlock in Washington means the United States lacks not only a broad national policy on sea-level rise, it has something close to the opposite: The federal government spends billions of taxpayer dollars in ways that add to the risks, by subsidizing local governments and homeowners who build in imperiled locations along the coast.

As the problem worsens, experts are warning that national security is on the line. Naval bases, in particular, are threatened; they can hardly be moved away from the ocean, yet much of their land is at risk of disappearing within this century.

“It’s as if the country was being attacked along every border, simultaneously,” said Andrea Dutton, a climate scientist at the University of Florida and one of the world’s leading experts on rising seas. “It’s a slow, gradual attack, but it threatens the safety and security of the United States.”
‘We’re Living It’

One night eight years ago, Karen Speights, a Norfolk resident, was sitting at the dinner table with her mother, eating crab legs dipped in butter and a tangy sauce. She felt a tingle. Photo

Karen Speights is wondering how to get her mother out of the neighborhood in Norfolk, Va., before the water comes again. Credit Eliot Dudik for The New York Times

“Ma!” she cried. “My feet are wet!”

Her mother laughed, but then she felt it, too: a house that had not flooded since the family moved there in 1964 was soon awash in saltwater. Ms. Speights initially hoped that flood was a fluke. Instead, it turned out to be the first of three to hit their home in less than a decade. Continue reading the main story

Nowadays, Ms. Speights, an administrative worker at a utility company, is wondering how to get her and her mother out of the neighborhood before the water comes again, without taking too much of a financial hit. And she pays more attention to problems that once seemed remote, like warnings from scientists about the rising sea.

“I believe it because we’re living it,” Ms. Speights said as she sat on her sofa, nodding toward the nearby tidal marsh that sent water into her living room. “The water has to be rising if we never flooded, and all of a sudden we’ve flooded three times in eight years.”

Because the land is sinking as the ocean rises, Norfolk and the metropolitan region surrounding it, known as Hampton Roads, are among the worst-hit parts of the United States. That local factor means, in essence, that the region is a few decades ahead in feeling the effects of sea-level rise, and illustrates what people along the rest of the American coast can expect.

The biggest problems involve frequent flooding of homes and roads. As the sea rises, hundreds of tidal creeks and marshes that thread through the region are bringing saltwater to people’s doorsteps. Continue reading the main story

Photo

A house in Norfolk, Va., that has been repeatedly hit by tidal floods sat on temporary supports as workers prepared to elevate it permanently in June. Credit Eliot Dudik for The New York Times



This summer, on a driving tour of Norfolk and nearby towns, William A. Stiles Jr. pointed to the telltale signs that the ocean is gradually invading the region.

He spotted crusts of dried salt in the streets, and salt-loving marsh grasses that are taking over suburban yards. He pointed out trees killed by seawater. He stood next to one of the road signs that Norfolk has been forced to install in recent years, essentially huge vertical rulers so people know the depth of floodwaters at low-lying intersections.

“There’s just more and more visible impacts: water on the street, water that won’t clear from the ditch, these intense rain events, higher tides,” Mr. Stiles said.

“It’s beginning to catch the attention of citizens, restaurant owners, business people, politicians. There’s just much more of a conversation, and it’s not just in the politically safe places. It’s everywhere.”

Mr. Stiles, known as Skip, heads a local environmental group, Wetlands Watch. At his suggestion, students at two local universities began looking at the neighborhood where Ms. Speights lives, Chesterfield Heights. It has had little history of flooding, but that is starting to change as the water rises.

The plan the students developed has morphed into an ambitious program to safeguard the neighborhood, and another nearby, for decades. The Obama administration recently gave Virginia more than $100 million to carry the plan out. The administration has also enlisted one of the universities, Old Dominion in Norfolk, to spearhead a broad effort at better planning.

But the size of that grant illustrates the scope of the problem confronting the region, and the country: protecting a single neighborhood from rising water can easily cost tens of millions of dollars. Sea walls and streets may have to be raised, or movable gates built along waterways so they can be closed at times of high water.

While the Obama administration is trying to create a few showcase neighborhoods, there is no sign Congress is prepared to spend the money that cities and states say they need: tens of billions of dollars just to catch up to the current flooding problems, much less get ahead of them. Norfolk alone, a town of 250,000 people, has a wish list of $1.2 billion — or about $5,000 for every man, woman and child in the city.

As the national response lags, experts warn that the flooding is putting the country’s defense at risk.

Several studies have concluded that Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base, is profoundly threatened by rising seas, as are other coastal bases. The Pentagon has managed to build floodgates and other protective measures at some facilities. But attempts by the military to develop broader climate change plans have met fierce resistance in Congress.

That was the case this summer, when an effort by the Pentagon to appoint officers to take charge of climate resilience led to a House vote prohibiting taxpayer money from being spent on the plan. Continue reading the main story

Photo

Andrea Dutton, a University of Florida climate scientist, beside an ancient coral reef in the Florida Keys, evidence that the sea level was once far higher than today. Credit Joshua Bright for The New York Times



“When we distract our military with a radical climate change agenda, we detract from their main purpose of defending America from enemies” like the Islamic State, said Mr. Buck of Colorado, the Republican congressman who sponsored the measure. His amendment passed the House 216 to 205, though the Senate has yet to agree to it.

Many people in Congress, almost all of them Republicans, express doubt about climate science, with some of them promulgating conspiracy theories claiming that researchers have invented the issue to justify greater governmental control over people’s lives. So far, this ideological position has been immune to the rising evidence of harm from human-induced climate change.

The Obama administration has been pushing federal agencies, including the Pentagon, to take more aggressive steps. But without action in Congress, experts say these efforts fall far short of what is required.

“In the country, certainly in the Congress, it hasn’t really resonated — the billions and perhaps trillions of dollars that we would need to spend if we want to live on the coast like we’re living today,” said David W. Titley, a retired rear admiral who was the chief oceanographer of the Navy, and now heads a climate center at Pennsylvania State University.

“I haven’t seen any evidence that there is serious thought about this: What does a world of three, four, five feet of sea-level rise look like?”
Mounting Evidence

Deep in a thicket of trees on an out-of-the-way island in the Florida Keys, a diesel engine roared to life. Soon a drill bit was chewing through ancient limestone, pulling up evidence from the geological past that might shed light on the future of the planet.

On a sultry day in March, Dr. Dutton, the University of Florida scientist, stood watch over the drilling operation, inspecting her samples as they emerged from the ground. She spotted fossilized corals, proof that what is now the dry ground of Lignumvitae Key was once underwater.

With taxpayer funding from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Dutton is chasing what might be the most urgent question in climate science: How fast is the ocean going to rise?

“Is it going to happen in decades, or centuries, or a thousand years?” Dr. Dutton asked as she took a break to eat lunch on a tarpaulin spread under the trees. “This will give us an example to say, ‘Well, the last time this happened, here is how long it took.’”

The opponents of climate science in Congress, and the tiny group of climate researchers allied with them, have argued that the concerns of thousands of mainstream scientists about the future are based on unproven computer forecasts.

In reality, their concerns are based in large part on mounting evidence of what has happened in the past. Continue reading the main story

Photo

Water from a tidal stretch of the Potomac River flooded Old Town Alexandria in Virginia during high tides in early June. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times



Through decades of research, it has become clear that human civilization, roughly 6,000 years old, developed during an unusually stable period for global sea levels. But over longer spans, coastlines have been much more dynamic.

During ice ages, caused by wobbles in the Earth’s orbit, sea levels dropped more than 400 feet as ice piled up on land. But during periods slightly warmer than today, the sea may have risen 70 or more feet above the current level.

Dr. Dutton and other leading scientists are focused on the last sea-level high point, which occurred between the last two ice ages, about 125,000 years ago.

After years of surveying ancient shorelines around the world, scientists determined that the sea level rose by something like 20 to 30 feet in that era, compared with today. But how long did it take to make that jump? That is the question Dr. Dutton, using improved research techniques, wants to answer.

Large parts of the Florida Keys are simply ancient coral reefs that grew during the period of high seas, and were exposed when the levels fell. Trees, roads and houses now sit atop the old reefs. By recovering samples, Dr. Dutton hopes to date a sequence of corals as they grew along with the rising sea, potentially revealing the rate at which the water rose.

The research, likely to take years, may supply a figure for how quickly the ocean was able to rise under past conditions, but not necessarily a maximum rate for the coming decades. The release of greenhouse gases from human activity is causing the planet to warm rapidly, perhaps faster than at any other time in the Earth’s history. The ice sheets in both Greenland and West Antarctica are beginning to melt into the sea at an accelerating pace.

Scientists had long hoped that any disintegration of the ice sheets would take thousands of years, but recent research suggests the breakup of West Antarctica could occur much faster. In the worst-case scenario, this research suggests, the rate of sea-level rise could reach a foot per decade by the 22nd century, about 10 times faster than today.

In 2013, scientists reached a consensus that three feet was the highest plausible rise by the year 2100. But now some of them are starting to say that six or seven feet may be possible. A rise that large over a span of decades would be an unparalleled national catastrophe, driving millions of people from their homes and most likely requiring the abandonment of entire cities.

In essence, by revealing how sensitive the ice sheets have been to past warming, Dr. Dutton’s research may answer the question of whether such a rapid jump is possible.

Along those parts of the United States coast that are sinking at a brisk clip, including southern Louisiana and the entire Chesapeake Bay region, including Norfolk, the situation will be worse than average. On the Pacific Coast, a climate pattern that had pushed billions of gallons of water toward Asia is now ending, so that in coming decades the sea is likely to rise quickly off states like Oregon and California.

Along the East Coast, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that many communities have already, or will soon, pass a threshold where sunny-day flooding starts to happen much more often. Continue reading the main story

Photo

At the City Market in Charleston, S.C., one of the most popular spots in town, shoppers dodged seawater that bubbled up from storm drains during high tide in June. Credit Hunter McRae for The New York Times



“When you look at the historical record, there’s no trend saying the flooding is going down,” said Dr. Sweet, the NOAA expert. “The trends are all very clear. They’re going up, and they’re going up in many of these areas in an accelerating fashion.”

Late last year, in Paris, nations reached a landmark global agreement to cut emissions. It is fragile, and might not survive if Donald J. Trump is elected president in November; he has pledged to scrap it.

But the air is already so full of greenhouse gases that most land ice on the planet has started to melt. So even if the deal survives, it will, at best, slow the rise of the sea and perhaps limit the ultimate increase. Many climate scientists, including Dr. Dutton, believe a rise of at least 15 or 20 feet has already become inevitable, over an unknown period.
Facing Hard Decisions

As Brad Tuckman walked the piece of land in Fort Lauderdale where he is building a grand new house, he pointed toward the canal that wraps around three sides of the property.

It is scenic, with yachts plying the water, yet as the sea has risen, street flooding in the area has become a recurring nuisance. So before starting construction, Mr. Tuckman said he spent nearly a half-million dollars to raise the sea wall and truck in dirt to elevate the land.

“The predictions of what’s going to happen over the next 20, 30, 40 years — it’s real,” said Mr. Tuckman, the founder of a company offering creative services to the retail industry.

In South Florida, among the worst-hit parts of the country for sunny-day flooding, people are not waiting for state or federal help. Those who can afford it are starting to act on their own. A company, Coastal Risk Consulting, has cropped up to advise them, and is offering its services nationally.

Cities and counties in the region have formed an alliance and enlisted professors to help them figure out what to do. They are hiring “chief resilience officers,” an idea pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, which is paying some of the salary cost.

In Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale, as well as in older Northern cities like Boston and New York, tidal marshes and creeks were filled in a century or more ago to make new land, and it is in these areas — “back bays,” as some of these spots are called — where the flooding is happening first.

That is because they remain the lowest spots in the landscape, vulnerable to the rising water nearby. Old drain pipes empty into the tidal creeks, and at high tide the water can back up through these pipes, bubbling into the streets seemingly from nowhere.

In Miami Beach, the city engineer, Bruce A. Mowry, has come up with a plan for combating the flooding. He rips up problematic streets, raises them with extra dirt and repaves them, installing new drains and giant pumps that can push water back into the bay. The approach has already been shown to work in several neighborhoods. Continue reading the main story

Photo

A University of Florida scientific team approaching Lignumvitae Key as part of a study to determine how fast sea levels rose in the ancient past. Credit Joshua Bright for The New York Times



A controversy has erupted about whether Miami Beach is polluting Biscayne Bay with the water, but the city is pushing ahead. Miami Beach plans to spend at least $400 million on its plan by 2018, raising the money through fees imposed on homes and businesses.

The huge county government for the region, Miami-Dade County, is developing its own resilience strategy, one likely to cost billions. It has committed to rebuilding some of its decaying infrastructure, like a sewage plant, in a way that safeguards against sea-level rise and storm surges.

“I don’t see doom and gloom here; I see opportunity,” said Harvey Ruvin, the clerk of courts for Miami-Dade County, who has been a leading voice on the environment in Florida for a half-century, and who recently led a county task force on sea-level rise. “We’re talking about the most robust possible jobs program you can think of, and one that can’t be outsourced.”

Many of the Republican mayors in the region are on the same page as Democrats in requesting national and state action on climate change, as well as pushing local steps. James C. Cason, the Republican mayor of Coral Gables, has convened informational sessions that draw hundreds of residents, and he has received no complaints for his stance.

“I hope in coming years when we have to spend a lot of money, the citizens will still support it,” Mr. Cason said in an interview.

Still, his city, and others in South Florida, have some hard decisions to make.

Some property owners cannot afford to raise their sea walls, putting their neighborhoods at increased risk of flooding. Will they be held legally responsible when floods do occur? A strict policy could force some people from their homes. Conversely, should public money be spent to do the work, even if it largely benefits private property?

Just for streets, storm drains and the like, South Florida governments will need to raise billions, and they have yet to figure out how. Moreover, if the rise of the sea accelerates as much as some scientists fear, it is doubtful the cities will be able to keep up.

The region has one mayor, Philip K. Stoddard of South Miami, who is a scientist himself — he studies animal communication at Florida International University — and has been a close reader of scientific papers about climate change since the 1990s.

“I remember lying in bed at night thinking, ‘I hope this isn’t real,’” Dr. Stoddard, a Democrat, recalled. “I hope other data comes in that contradicts it. It took me several years to get my head around it and say, ‘Oh, God, it is real.’”

Now he is focused on easing the pain for South Miami, with a $50 million system of sewer pipes to replace septic tanks threatened by the rising water table.

“You can play it really badly and let unpleasant things happen earlier,” he said. “Or you can push them off by doing some infrastructure repairs and some thoughtful planning.”

He is, though, under no illusions about the long-term fate of the region he calls home.

“We’re putting enough heat in the ocean to send water over us, no question,” Dr. Stoddard said. “Ultimately, we give up and we leave. That’s how the story ends.”

Driver died after a tractor trailer overturned because of high winds from Tropical Storm Hermine on the Lindsay C. Warren Bridge east of Columbia, NC

One killed after tractor trailer overturns on Alligator River bridge from high winds

By Jeff Hampton
The Virginian-Pilot


COLUMBIA, N.C.

A man died early Saturday after a tractor trailer overturned because of high winds from Tropical Storm Hermine on the Lindsay C. Warren Bridge east of Columbia.

The truck overturned about 9:45 a.m. killing the driver, said Sheriff Darryl Liverman of Tyrrell County. The name of the deceased will be released later, he said.

The bridge tender reported a wind gust of 116 miles per hour earlier today, Liverman said.

A pickup truck pulling a trailer also overturned on the bridge about 7 a.m., he said. There were no serious injuries in that accident.

A tractor-trailer overturned on the bridge in February because of high winds.

The narrow, two-lane bridge is part of U.S. 64 and spans nearly three miles across the Alligator River connecting Tyrrell County to Dare County. The 56-year-old bridge has been considered for replacement.

Using a bazuka to kill a moskito: how bee populations are devastated by reckless moskito spraying

Bee-pocalypse: Lessons from Zika spraying
'My bees were poisoned from the sky,' beekeeper says

by Sandee LaMotte CNN
POSTED: 04:53 PM CDT Sep 02, 2016 UPDATED: 05:41 PM CDT Sep 02, 2016





Rich Brooks/CNN
(CNN) -

South Carolina beekeeper Juanita Stanley has a message to mosquito control officials who she believes are overreacting to Zika: "Stop. This is crazy. It's like using a sledgehammer to crack a peanut. The devastation that it has already caused is beyond comprehension. We can't live without these honeybees."

 
Last weekend, Stanley lost more than 3 million bees -- all 46 of her hives and her entire livelihood -- when Summerville officials decided to aerially spray a small area of the town for Zika-carrying mosquitoes.

Usually, officials spray for mosquito control by truck and at night, when bees are in their hives and beekeepers can better protect them. But this time, the county decided to spray aerially, just after sunrise on Sunday.

"There are 'no spraying' signs all over my property," Stanley said. "But my bees were poisoned from the sky."

The spraying occurred, Dorchester County Administrator Jason Ward said, because four people in the county had developed Zika while traveling to areas of the world where the virus is actively circulating. Summerville residents then expressed concern about the virus.

But Zika is not actively circulating in South Carolina. All but one of the 46 cases in the state are imported, travel-associated cases. The lone exception was transmitted sexually.

In fact, the only state with active mosquito transmission is Florida, and only in the Miami and St. Petersberg/Tampa areas.

So if no local mosquitoes in Summerville are carrying the Zika virus, why was it necessary to spray?

For one, Aedes aegypti, the main mosquito that carries and transmits the virus, has been found in small numbers in the nearby Charleston area, says Ward. And even though the only news release from South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control in April says, "There is no risk to public health and no risk of transmission to people or mosquitoes in South Carolina at this time," Ward says the county's first responsibility is to its residents.

"We had historic rainfall, including a flood last October, where we've had standing water in areas where we have never had standing water," he explained. "Our winter this year was very mild, and we didn't have that real hard freeze. So the health of our citizens is of primary concern."

Stanley said that rationale doesn't make sense.

"Someone has a virus that they didn't get here, but what if, someday, maybe, they might?" she asked, her voice rising in outrage. "Let's just go kill everything in case someone might get it? Where is the logic in that?"

What is the official stance? The National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the National Bee Laboratory said they would not be commenting on the issue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was more forthcoming.

"We do recommend mosquito control to be done around travel-associated cases as well as locally transmitted cases if the mosquitoes that spread Zika are in the environment," said entomologist Janet McAllister of the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases. "We don't want the virus to take hold in the local mosquito population."

Although Aedes aegypti is the most effective at transmitting the Zika virus, another more common mosquito in the United States is also capable of spreading the disease. It's called Aedes albopictus, and it's widespread in South Carolina.

"Our recommendations take into account both species," McAllister said, "just in case the disease starts to spread."

Mosquito control and bees

The nation's bees have long been stressed by the public's need for pest control.

"I've seen it with West Nile virus and after hurricanes and major flooding," entomologist Jeffrey Harris said. "I always tell the beekeepers that human health is always going to trump bee health, and if there is a natural disaster that increases a dangerous mosquito population, they are going to spray."

Harris runs the Honey Bee Extension and Research Program for Mississippi State University and is active in research on bees and how to best protect them from pesticides.

"Aerial spraying is a tough one," he said. "The recommendations are difficult to follow. While maximum foraging for bees is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., in the summertime, the bees are already out at dawn, when aerial spraying is recommended. So spraying in the morning is the worst thing they can do for bees."

Why not spray at night?

"That's not always possible," said Michael Doyle, who has run the Key West Mosquito Control District for five years. "Some districts can fly at night safely, but, for example, we cannot in Key West. We have to fly over water, and there isn't any light to guide the plane."

Doyle added that because the naled pesticide droplets are very small, there is really no way to avoid unprotected hives. The CDC's McAllister agrees.

"The mosquito control pesticides are targeted for tiny creatures," McAllister said. "They are very small droplets, about 15 to 25 microns in size, much less than the diameter of the human hair."



=========



Zika spraying kills millions of honeybees
Beekeeper has to destroy hives

by Sandee LaMotte CNN
POSTED: 05:29 PM CDT Sep 01, 2016 UPDATED: 05:57 PM CDT Sep 01, 2016




Joe Raedle/Getty Images
(CNN) -

The pictures are heartbreaking: Millions of honeybees lie dead after being sprayed with an insecticide targeting Zika-carrying mosquitoes.

 
"On Saturday, it was total energy, millions of bees foraging, pollinating, making honey for winter," beekeeper Juanita Stanley said. "Today, it stinks of death. Maggots and other insects are feeding on the honey and the baby bees who are still in the hives. It's heartbreaking."

Stanley, co-owner of Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply in Summerville, South Carolina, said she lost 46 beehives -- more than 3 million bees -- in mere minutes after the spraying began Sunday morning.

"Those that didn't die immediately were poisoned trying to drag out the dead," Stanley said. "Now, I'm going to have to destroy my hives, the honey, all my equipment. It's all contaminated."

Stanley said Summerville Fire Capt. Andrew Macke, who keeps bees as a hobby, also lost thousands of bees. She said neither of them had protected their hives because they didn't know about the aerial spraying.

"Andrew has two hives," Stanley said. "He didn't know they were going to spray. His wife called him. His bees are at their porch right by their home, and she saw dead bees everywhere."

It's a tragedy that could be repeated across the country as cases of Zika continue to rise and local mosquito control districts struggle to protect their residents and ease local fears.

The spray fell from the skies between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Sunday. It was the first aerial spraying in 14 years, according to Dorchester County Administrator Jason Ward, part of the county's efforts to combat Zika after four local residents were diagnosed with the virus.

"We chose Sunday morning because few people would be out and about that early on a weekend," Ward said. "To protect the bees, you don't want to spray after the sun has been up more two hours, so we scheduled it early."

The county used a product called Trumpet, which contains the pesticide naled, recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for control of adult Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits Zika.

According to the manufacturer's label (PDF), Trumpet is "highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment on blooming crops or weeds. To minimize hazard to bees, it is recommended that the product is not applied more than two hours after sunrise or two hours before sunset, limiting application to times when bees are least active."

"We followed that recommendation," said Ward, "which is also the policy laid out by the state, using a pesticide the state has approved for use."

Ward says the county also notified residents of the spraying by posting a notice on its website at 9 a.m. Friday, two days before the spraying. He added that it alerted beekeepers who were on the local mosquito control registry by phone or email, a common practice before truck spraying.

"That's true when they sprayed by trucks; they told me in advance, and we talked about it so I could protect my bees," Stanley said. "But nobody called me about the aerial spraying; nobody told me at all."

Stanley said she "would have been screaming and pleading on their doorstep if they had."

" 'Do it at night when bees are done foraging,' I would have told them," she added, breaking into tears. "But they sprayed at 8 a.m. Sunday, and all of my bees were out, doing their work by then."

Macke was also not informed, Ward said, because he, like many hobby beekeepers, is not on the local mosquito control registry.

"We are obviously saddened by the fact people have lost their hives, and we have gone back and looked at our procedures," Ward said. "We will now give up to five days of advance notice, and we have expanded our list to include more local beekeepers."

Stanley says she doesn't think there was malice involved, but that doesn't make the loss of her "honey girls" any less painful.

"This wasn't about the honey," she said. "It was about raising bees and selling them to other people, and spreading the honey girls out there into the world. Now, I can't help anyone anymore, because all of them are dead." 

2 killed after a Cessna 172 plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean offshore of Dania Beach Ocean Park, Florida

2 Bodies Recovered From Plane Crash Off Dania Beach September 3, 2016 10:54 AM
 

(Source: CBS4)


DANIA BEACH (CBSMiami) — Two people were found deceased following a plane crash that went down in the ocean off Dania Beach.


A crashed Cessna plane is seen about 40 ft underwater off Dania Beach. (Source: CBS4)

Just after 10 a.m. Saturday, Broward Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol said the small Cessna crashed about two miles east of the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, along 100 N. Beach Rd.

About an hour later, a Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue aircraft located wreckage and two people roughly one and a half miles south of Port Everglades. They were transferred to Station Fort Lauderdale and pronounced deceased.

“A Broward Sheriff’s Air Rescue helicopter was the first out there, over the ocean,” said Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Mike Jachles. “There was some bad weather a couple miles out, so they were actually diverted from that bad weather. Diverted towards the coast line, when they did encounter what looked like an oil slick and then the small debris field. They confirmed they located the wreckage and the plane was located approximately 200 yards offshore in about 40 feet of water.”

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the plane took off from Pompano around 8:30 a.m. and the first distress calls were received around 10 a.m.

A search was suspended after confirming that there weren’t other passengers aboard the plane.

A Coast Guard Air Station Miami MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter crew, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Department of Fire and Rescue, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine units, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Department and Seatow also assisted with the search.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation.

===============
Small plane crashes near Dania Beach, killing two.

Erika Pesantes Contact ReporterSun Sentinel

Plane crashes down off Dania Beach's coast, killing two, officials say


Two people were killed in Saturday morning's plane crash off the Dania Beach coast, authorities said.

First responders found the downed small plane and the bodies of two occupants off the coast of Dania Beach, according to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles confirmed the two deaths during a news conference Saturday afternoon.

However, authorities don't yet know how many people were on the plane, so they're still searching the waters for others who may have been on the plane, the Coast Guard said. The plane has a capacity of four. The identities of those who died aren't yet known.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen described the aircraft as a Cessna 172 that was flying south along Broward County's shoreline before it fell into the ocean.


In the moments after the crash, Fort Lauderdale's fire-rescue boat and divers were in the water assisting with the downed plane, said the agency's battalion chief Greg May.

According to Coast Guard Petty Officer Eric Woodall, the agency dispatched a boat from its station in Fort Lauderdale shortly after 10 a.m. to respond to the crash site.

This story will be updated. Check back for more information.


=============

Date:

03-SEP-2016
Time: 10:00
Type:
Cessna 172
Owner/operator:

Registration:

C/n / msn:

Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Substantial
Location: Atlantic Ocean off Dania Beach, Broward County, FL - United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature: Unknown
Departure airport:

Destination airport:

Narrative:
The aircraft impacted the waters of the Atlantic Ocean offshore of Dania Beach Ocean Park, just east of Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (KFLL), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the two occupants onboard received fatal injuries.


Sources:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/dania-beach/--fl-plane-down-fort-lauderdale-20160903-story.html
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/09/03/small-plane-crashes-off-dania-beach/

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.0580983,-80.110558,17z/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-us

One person died in a 2-alarm fire at a house on Coleman Lane in Titusville, New Jersey

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP: One dead in house fire on Coleman Lane in Titusville


HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — One person died in a fire at a house on Coleman Lane in Titusville on Friday night, township police reported.

Police officers William Gaskell, Vincent Amiable and James Klesney responded to the residence following a 10:13 p.m. report from an alarm monitoring service. Police said they found fire and heavy smoke throughout the house. They tried to enter the house by forcing open a first level door after using two fire suppression devices but the heavy smoke conditions kept them from going inside.

When firefighters arrived they entered the house and found a victim on the first floor. The victim was removed by firefighters but was deceased, police said. The identity of the victim has been withheld by police pending the notification of next of kin.

The house suffered fire damage, as well as heat, smoke and water damage throughout. It was left uninhabitable, police said.

The Union Fire Company, under the command of Deputy Chief Eric Burd, along with the Pennington Fire Company, the Hopewell Fire Department, and multiple fire companies from New Jersey and Pennsylvania extinguished the fire. Tankers from Bucks County, Somerset County, Middlesex County and Hunterdon County also assisted.

The fire remains under investigation by the Hopewell Township Police Department, Hopewell Valley Emergency Services, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Mercer County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Coleman Lane and Route 29 were closed during this fire-fighting operation.



========




  Michael Mancuso | For NJ.com
  on September 03, 2016 at 1:36 AM, updated September 03, 2016 at 7:15 AM




TITUSVILLE, NJ — Authorities are investigating a two-alarm fire at a residence at 46 Coleman Lane that claimed a life late Friday night, officials said.

Hopewell Police set up police lines marking the area as a crime scene.

Companies from surrounding areas helped fight the blaze.

In order to reach the scene, firelighters ran lines for over 1000 ft. up the length of Coleman Lane from Rt. 29 where members of the Hopewell Fire Company were filling portable pools to supply water.

Gov. Chris Christie declared a State of Emergency Saturday for Ocean County, Atlantic County and Cape May County ahead of Tropical Storm Hermine.

Gov. Chris Christie listens to a question from the media during a press conference Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, in Trenton, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)


Updated 6 mins ago
TRENTON, N.J. -- Gov. Chris Christie declared a State of Emergency Saturday for Ocean County, Atlantic County and Cape May County ahead of Tropical Storm Hermine.

Hermine is expected to impact the entire New Jersey shoreline, and those three counties in particular.

Tropical storm force winds, heavy and sustained rain, as well as moderate to major coastal flooding with heavy surf and beach erosion are expected.

These severe weather conditions may cause power outages and impede transportation and the flow of traffic in New Jersey, thereby making it difficult or impossible for residents to obtain the necessities of life, as well as essential services such as police, fire and first aid

3 killed, 2 injured after driver failed to comply with traffic stop, accelerated and ran off the road, hitting a utility pole on Route 6 in Danbury, CT

3 killed in Danbury, Connecticut, after car flees traffic stop, police say

 
Eyewitness News
Updated 2 hrs 13 mins ago
DANBURY, Connecticut (WABC) -- A car that police said fled a traffic stop crashed early Saturday morning, killing the driver and two passengers.

Around 4:20 a.m., a Putnam County, NY deputy sheriff on Route 6 in Putnam near the New York-Connecticut state line saw a car being driven erratically, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

When the deputy tried to pull over the car, police said the driver did not comply and kept going, driving east toward Connecticut.

Eventually the car accelerated and ran off the road, hitting a utility pole at Route 6 and Milestone Road in Danbury.

Five people were in the white Nissan Maxima sedan, including a male driver, two men and two women. The driver and the other men were killed on impact. The two women were taken to Danbury Hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life threatening.

The sheriff's deputy was not injured.

The identities of those in the car have not been released.  We would not be surprised if these were Hispanics, as Danbury has been flooded with them and many illegals.

=====





New Details Emerge in Triple Fatal Accident in Danbury After Pursuit: UPDATE
A Putnam County sheriff tried to pull the vehicle over in New York for a suspected DUI incident but the car took off at a high rate of speed



By Brian McCready (Patch National Staff) - September 3, 2016 11:53 am ET

 

DANBURY, CT — Three people died and two people were hospitalized after their car crashed on Mill Plain Road after they fled a traffic stop in Putnam County, the Putnam County Sheriff's office reports Saturday.

At about 4:20 a.m. Saturday, a Putnam County deputy sheriff was in a marked cruiser on patrol along U.S. Route 6 in Southeast, about three-quarters of a mile from the New York-Connecticut state line, Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith said in a statement.

The deputy observed a car travelling eastbound on the highway being operated erratically and swerving over the center-line of the road, Smith said in a news release.

Suspecting that the driver of the car was intoxicated, the deputy turned on his lights and siren in an attempt to pull the car over, police said. The driver did not comply, however, and continued to drive eastbound toward Connecticut, with the deputy following, initially at speeds below the posted speed limit, police said.

When the suspect’s car was about a quarter mile from the state line, it accelerated, Smith said. The deputy continued to follow the car across the state line and radioed the Sheriff’s Office headquarters to notify the Danbury Police Department to be on the lookout for the car, the news release states.

About three-quarters of a mile into Connecticut, the deputy decelerated and turned off his siren, the Putnam County Sheriff's office said.

The suspect’s car continued to accelerate away and, about 15 seconds later, it ran off the roadway and crashed into a metal utility pole at the intersection of Mill Plain Road (U.S. Route 6) and Milestone Road in Danbury, police said.

The car, a white Nissan Maxima four-door sedan, was occupied by five persons, including a male driver, two male passengers and two female passengers, police said.

The driver and male passengers were killed upon impact, police said. The two females were injured, and first-aid was administered to them by the deputy, with help from passers-by, police said.

The women were transported to Danbury Hospital with injuries to their extremities that are not believed to be life-threatening. The identities of the victims have not been released. 
We would not be surprised if these were Hispanics, as Danbury has been flooded with them and many illegals.

A police investigation determined the police vehicle was traveling over 65 miles per hour, with top speeds of over 80 MPH, during the chase. The crash speed of the Nissan has not been determined.
The sheriff’s deputy was not injured. He was taken to Putnam Hospital Center for observation and then released.


Read More: 3 Dead After Car Flees Putnam Traffic Stop, Crashes in Connecticut | http://hudsonvalleypost.com/3-dead-2-injured-after-car-flees-traffic-stop-in-hudson-valley-crashes-in-connecticut/?trackback=tsmclip

A construction worker with Ferraiolo Construction was crushed to death when he was run over by a bulldozer at the Mill Street work zone in Rockport, Maine

Police identify construction worker killed by bulldozer in Rockport
Accident happened in Mill Street work zone
UPDATED 11:48 AM EDT Sep 02, 2016

ROCKPORT, Maine —A construction worker was killed Thursday when he was run over by a bulldozer, according to the Rockport Fire Department.



It happened on Mill Street just after 3:30 p.m. The road has been closed for construction for about a month.

Camden police identified the deceased as Franco "Frank" Ferraiolo, 54, of South Thomaston. Police said Ferriaolo was working for his family business, Ferraiolo Construction.


Mill Street, located off Route 90, has been under construction this summer to replace a bridge and has been closed to through traffic. Ferraiolo Construction of Rockland is the contractor for the job. A sign at the head of the road indicates the job was expected to be complete by Sept. 2.

The bulldozer was backing up and didn't see Ferraiolo, who was pulled under the track. The person in the bulldozer has not been released.

Officials said the job site was shut down following the accident.

The district attorney's office and OSHA are now investigating.

"The purpose of OSHA’s inspection is to determine whether or not there were any violations of workplace safety standards in connection with this incident," OSHA spokesman Ted Fitzgerald said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be conducting an investigation into the accident, and Geary said OSHA was on the scene the morning of Sept. 2.

Also on Sept. 2, Rockport Town Manager Richard Bates released the following statement, "On behalf of the Town of Rockport I would like to express our deepest sympathy to the families, friends and associates of Frank Ferraiolo. 

Frank and his company, Ferraiolo Construction, were the successful bidders on our project at the Mill Street Bridge. An unfortunate accident yesterday resulted in his death on the site. Our thoughts are with everyone, including personnel of the Rockport Fire Department and North East Mobile Health Services who were first on scene."

This story will continue to be updated as more information is released.




========================

FERRAIOLO CONSTRUCTION
Rockland Maine
For over 30 years we have been serving the Midcoast region of Maine.
We operate a ready mix concrete plant located in Rockland and also a crusher operation for your aggregate needs.

No matter what you have in mind for projects, we will be glad to help make your projects come to reality.

General Contractor

Ready Mix Concrete

Earth Work

Demolition

Pipe Lines

Boom Truck

Hauling (dump / live bottom / lowboy)

Septic Systems

Commercial Plowing

Snow Removal

Sanding and or Salting

====================

FATAL BACKOVER WORKER ALERT AT CONSTRUCTION SITES

It is always very sad to see a young man working for a living in the cold weather to die at a construction site.  Please read this safety alert and ensure that your staff implements the recommendations.  

On February 15, 2014, a 26 year old male employee working as a “Swamper” (driver apprentice) for an oil field trucking company, was fatally injured when he was backed over by a co-worker operating a gas engine, 1-ton dually, welding truck. The welding truck was in the process of relocating past winch truck operations on the well site at the time of the incident.

The company was in preparation for a “rig up stage” at a new well drill site. Just prior to the incident, the welding truck driver and the winch truck employees of the same company met and discussed the planned work. All three employees were aware the welding truck would be required to back up from where it was located, and drive past the swamper and winch truck driver’s location.

The Swamper was assisting the winch truck driver in the relocation of mud and water tanks. After the previous meeting, the winch truck driver returned to his truck, and the Swamper assisted in horizontal rigging of the tank to winch equipment. The welder returned to his truck to move it.

At the time of the accident the welding truck driver was operating a truck without benefit of back- up alarm or spotter. As the welding truck driver backed his vehicle up to the new location, the swamper positioned himself along the storage tank being winched.  The swamper stepped backward into the path of the welding truck, the welding truck passed completely over the victim.

The decedent died of his injuries at the scene.

Cause and Significant Contributing Factors:

 

·         The welding truck driver arrived on site after the morning job safety analysis (JSA) and tailgate safety meeting.

·         All three workers failed to identify the hazards present on location.

·         There were four different diesel engines running in the area of the incident, creating significant background noise. The diesel engine noise and winds diminished the victim’s ability to hear the much quieter gasoline engine of the welding truck.

·         The victim was wearing a hooded sweatshirt under FRC coveralls, which created limited peripheral vision.

·         The victim inadvertently positioned himself in the path of the welding truck to avoid hazards associated with the winching operation he was assisting with.

·         The victim had his back to the driver; the driver had his back to the victim.

·         The driver of the welding truck could not see directly to the rear due to truck design, obstructed view created by the welding equipment and the driver did not ask for a spotter to assist.

·         The gas engine welding truck was never equipped with a back-up alarm.

·         The victim did not offer to be a spotter, and the winch truck driver did not offer to be a spotter.

·         The trucking company did have a vehicle inspection form, but it was used inconsistently.

·         The inspection form did not have a vehicle specific format, or a back-up alarm check.

·         The winch truck driver was likely in transition of view; he was shifting from left side mirror to right side mirror and rear window view of winch process.

Recommendations:

 

·         Brief all employees on the facts and circumstances of this fatal incident.

·         In accordance with OSHA Construction Standards, properly equip motor vehicles used in construction environments with audible devices that may be heard over other sounds when being backed-up.

·         Revisit safety programs and JSA information to ensure they are applicable to OSHA standards necessary for the work to be performed.

·         Use a spotter when backing equipment near other personnel as required.

·         Utilize high visibility outer garments.

·         Be aware of your surroundings.

·         Avoid wearing clothing or hooded garments which limit your field of view.

·         Use of approved FRC helmet liners is preferred, as they turn with your head.

·         Ensure that pre-tour safety meetings are conducted to discuss the work to be performed, identifying the potential safety hazards and implementing safe work procedures to control hazards.

·         Ensure the safety meeting information is provided to all employees.

Preventing Backovers

A backover incident occurs when a backing vehicle strikes a worker who is standing, walking, or kneeling behind the vehicle. These incidents can be prevented. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 70 workers died from backover incidents in 2011. These kinds of incidents can occur in different ways. For example:

On June 18, 2009, an employee was working inside a work zone wearing his reflective safety vest. A dump truck operating in the work zone backed up and struck the employee with the rear passenger side wheels. The employee was killed. The dump truck had an audible back up alarm and operating lights. (OSHA Inspection Number 313225377)

On June 9, 2010, an employee was standing on the ground in front of a loading dock facing into the building while a tractor trailer was backing into the same dock. The trailer crushed the employee between the trailer and the dock. (OSHA Inspection Number 314460940).

The purpose of this webpage is to provide information about the hazards of backovers; solutions that can reduce the risk or frequency of these incidents; articles and resources; and references to existing regulations and letters of interpretation.

How do backover incidents occur?

 

Backover accidents can happen for a variety of reasons. Drivers may not be able to see a worker in their blind spot. Workers may not hear backup alarms because of other worksite noises or because the alarms are not functioning. A spotter assisting one truck may not see another truck behind him. Workers riding on vehicles may fall off and get backed over. Drivers may assume that the area is clear and not look in the direction of travel (PDF*). Sometimes, it is unclear why a worker was in the path of a backing vehicle. A combination of factors can also lead to backover incidents.

What can be done to prevent backover incidents?

Many solutions exist to prevent backover incidents. Drivers can use a spotter to help them back up their vehicles. Video cameras with in-vehicle display monitors can give drivers a view of what is behind them. Proximity detection devices, such as radar and sonar, can alert drivers to objects that are behind them. Tag-based systems can inform drivers when other employees are behind the vehicle and can alert employees when they walk near a vehicle equipped to communicate with the tag worn by the employee. On some work sites, employers can create internal traffic control plans, which tell the drivers where to drive and can reduce the need to back up. In some cases, internal traffic control plans can also be used to separate employees on foot from operating equipment.

Training is another tool to prevent backover incidents. Blind spots behind and around vehicles are not immediately obvious to employees on foot. By training employees on where those blind spots are and how to avoid being in them, employers can prevent some backover incidents. One component of this training can include putting employees who will be working around vehicles in the driver’s seat to get a feel for where the blind spots are and what, exactly, the drivers can see. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) several blind spot diagrams that can help explain what drivers of various large trucks can see.

Vehicles Causing the Most Backover Fatalities 2005-2010+

Dump Truck	67
Semi/Tractor Trailer	40
Truck	30
Forklift	21
Garbage Truck	20
Pick-up Truck	16

Highlights

NEW Preventing Worker Injuries and Deaths from Backing Construction Vehicles and Equipment at Roadway Construction Worksites (PDF*). NIOSH, (2014, June)

Stakeholder meeting [Jan. 8-9, 2013, in Washington, D.C. and Feb. 5, 2013, in Arlington, Texas]. OSHA Trade News Release, (2012, December 17).

Preventing Backovers. Safety Clearinghouses. Provides links to information relating to backover incidents in highway work zones.

Motor Vehicle Safety. OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page.

Prevention Video (v-Tool): Struck-by Accidents in Construction. OSHA Video.

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting & Forensics (MECF)

Providing Competent, Expert and Objective Investigative Engineering and Consulting Services

P.O. Box 520

Tenafly, NJ 07670-0520

Tel.: (973) 897-8162

Fax: (973) 810-0440

E-mail: metroforensics@gmail.com

Web pages: https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanforensics/

https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanenvironmental/

https://sites.google.com/site/metroforensics3/

We are happy to announce the launch of our twitter account. Please make sure to follow us at @MetropForensics or @metroforensics

Metropolitan appreciates your business.

Feel free to recommend our services to your friends and colleagues.

================

HOW TO PREVENT VEHICLE BACKOVER INJURIES AND DEATHS

MARCH 30, 2015


Backing vehicles and equipment are a serious occupational hazard. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that, of the 443 struck-by fatalities at road construction sites between 2003 and 2010, 143 cases involved a vehicle or mobile equipment backing up.


To help prevent backover injuries and deaths, NIOSH recommends a number of standard operating procedures:

• Create and enforce an operating procedure that addresses how to work safely and lists best practices to follow when working near vehicles and other equipment.
• Establish safety procedures for working at night with backing equipment. Ensure high-visibility apparel is worn.
• Take precautions. Use equipment that creates minimal blind spots or has proximity warning devices.
• Before work begins, design the worksites to minimize or eliminate the need for backing vehicles and equipment.
• Hire a competent person to supervise worksites involving backing vehicles and equipment.
• Be sure drivers know not to back up equipment unless they are under the direction of a spotter.
• Use barrels, barricades, cones or reflective devices to guide vehicles and equipment away from workers.
• Post signs informing workers where it is safe to walk.

NIOSH states that before work begins, vehicle and equipment operators need to inspect their machinery for any issues. Ensure everything, including mirrors and windows, is clear and in good working order. If something is found to be defective, remove the vehicle or equipment from service until repairs are made.
When operating equipment, know its blind spots. If you lose contact with your spotter for any reason, immediately stop work.


NIOSH also notes that clear communication is key. “At the start of each shift, review communications signals (verbal, hand signals, flags) between spotters, machine operators, truck drivers, and workers on foot,” the agency states.
For workers on foot near backing vehicles or equipment, NIOSH recommends employees adhere to the following:


· Wear appropriate high-visibility personal protective equipment.
· Know the blind spots of vehicles and equipment you work near.
· Never approach a piece of equipment or vehicle without a clear signal of acknowledgment from the operator.
· Avoid areas where vehicles and equipment travel.
· Stay alert for the sound of reversing alarms.
· Avoid complacency. Always know your surroundings.




//----------------------------------//



VEHICLE & EQUIPMENT OPERATION : BACKING EQUIPMENT AND SNOWPLOWS 


Vehicle backing accidents can happen at any time of the year, but when winter comes and there is snow to be cleared, this type of incident becomes even more likely. 

It seems like every year a backing accident involving a motorist and county equipment occurs in Michigan, despite all the efforts of the County Road Commissions to avoid these problems. 

However, you may also be interested to know that there are a number of backing accidents that occur in Road Commission garages and even in Road Commission yards. Often times, employees are injured or property is damaged. 


Backing accidents are due to a great many factors, including poor visibility, blind spots, difficult terrain, and driver fatigue or inattentiveness. But, let’s face it, the motoring public generally doesn’t focus much attention on avoiding snowplows or other vehicles/equipment with which they share the road. So it is your responsibility as a Road Commission employee to take extra care while out on the road. 


That makes avoiding an accident your responsibility, a responsibility that all county employees have to protect the public, but also a responsibility mandated by law. 

There may be serious legal repercussions if you get into a vehicle backing accident, so even though you as an operator may be doing everything else correctly, you should still remember that you are the one driving the 160,000-pound truck. Let’s not dwell on the negative, however. The point of our discussion today is to make sure that everyone on the road gets home safely.


Here are some strategies that veteran drivers use to avoid vehicle backing accidents. 

First of all, try to make a mental note of all the vehicles around you as you drive. If you see a motorist stop or turn off, then you can cross them off your list; but if not, then that vehicle is likely hiding somewhere in your blind spots or dead zone. 

Use curves in the road to help you. When entering an intersection, come to a stop at an angle if it’s safe to do so. If it’s dark out, use reflected light from snow banks or trees as additional queues that a vehicle is behind you. Activate your lights and beacons so that you are more visible. Ensure that back up alarms are functioning properly. 

Keep looking in your mirrors. Every few seconds you should be checking your mirrors. Remember to look and lean to see as much in your mirrors as possible. Stop and let the motorist pass before you begin clearing an intersection, but be aware that some motorists may get confused in these situations and may not react like you think they should. 

Back slowly at first, again, keeping an eye out for anything behind you. Finally, if you are backing and you feel an unusual amount of resistance, or the back end of the truck begins to rise, stop immediately! 

Check traffic so that you’re not going to be struck by a vehicle yourself, and get out and look. 


The most important thing is to be ready! If you operate a snowplow or any other heavy equipment on or near the public right of way, it’s not a matter of if a motorist will come too close to you, it’s a matter of when. So stay alert and be ready. Most of all, remember to drive safely.