P.O. BOX 360

LINDEN, TX 75563

Ward Timber Ltd.

Phone: 903-756-7700

Fax: 903-756-8313

E-mail: Brittanie@wardtimber.com

Days without a lost workday since Jan. 1, 2006

 

Wood yard 1467

Chipping 1467

Logging 177

Sawmill 144

Trucking 248

Office 1467

Names drawn for Safety Award

· Willie Washington

· George Threadgill

· Freddie Spigner

· Clifton Trim

· Carlous Peterson

· Bryan Cook

· Bobby Hunt

· Candido Segura

· Danny Lundy

· Gregory Hatley

· Jerry Mitchell

· Jimmy Burns

· Kenneth Breazeale

· Rickey Hatley

· Ronald Mauldin

· Lynn Cummings

 

 

Editors: Linda Price 

        Brittanie W. Lowery

      If you are texting or using any type of handheld device while driving get ready to stop.  With the number of bills being enacted and the death rates being so high it is just a matter of time before it will be illegal.

     On January 12, 2009  National Safety Council announced that it estimates at least 28% of all traffic crashes – or at least 1.6 million crashes each year – are caused by drivers using cell phones and texting.  NSC estimates that 1.4 million crashes each year are caused by drivers using cell phones and a minimum of 200,000 additional crashes each year are caused by drivers who are texting. The announcement came on the one-year anniversary of NSC’s call for a ban on all cell phone use and texting while driving. 

     The NSC is not the only entity that is pushing to ban the use of handheld devices while driving. There are numerous politicians and insurance companies who are actively pushing for this also.  The NSC warning goes further than many other such calls by asking states to ban even hands-free cell phone driving.  The NSC, who previously led the “Click it or Ticket” campaign on seat belt use, plans to combat cell phone driving through advocating state legislation against it, and by educating drivers and businesses on the risks of cell phone driving.    

      In Texas a law restricting cell phone use and texting has banned drivers from making calls in active school zones, where signs are posted. The Texas Department of Public Safety says it is illegal to use a cell phone in a school zone unless the vehicle is stopped or a hands-free device is used. Cities or counties wanting to enforce the law had to post a sign at the beginning of each school zone to inform drivers that using a wireless communications device is prohibited. Violators face a $50 fine .  A driver making an emergency call in a school zone is an exception to the law.

      In Texas young drivers are prohibited from all cell phone usage while driving during the first twelve months, bus drivers when a passenger is 17 and younger is present and all drivers in school crossing zones.  Texting ban is for all drivers in school crossing zones, bus drivers when a passenger 17 and younger is present; intermediate license holders for first twelve months.

    Germany, "the land of lifetime driver's licenses and the Autobahn….has drafted, with final approval expected this fall, a nationwide law requiring hands-free devices for motorists who use telephones while driving.   Other nations who now ban handheld phones include Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey. Countries that impose a fine for distracted drivers using handheld phones include France, the Netherlands, and the UK.
      Everyone needs to stop and think about what is about to happen and start  make changes on their own.  The world isn’t going to come to an end if you don’t answer that call immediately or text someone back the second you receive one. If you start following the suggestions below it just might save a life and it may be the life of a loved one.

· Allow voicemail to handle your calls and return them when safe.

· If you need to place or receive a call, pull off the road to a safe location and stop the vehicle before using your phone.

· Ask a passenger to make or take the call.

· Inform regular callers of the best time to reach you while you are driving.  
    Governors Highway Safety Association agreed that cell phone use while driving is dangerous, but said it would be difficult to enforce a ban. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is funded by auto insurers, said banning all cell phone use "makes sense based on the research," but agreed that enforcement will be difficult. Currently, at least seven states have banned driving while talking without a hand-free device and/or driving while texting.  In a few years this is going to become a law in many more states and eventually it will be enforced as strictly as the usage of seat belts.   —LP 

          Ward Timber’s DART  ( Days Away, Restrictions and Transfers)  rate is 1.89 and the TRC  (Total Recordable Cases) rate is 2.83.  The BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) current national average for the year of 2008 for sawmills  is DART = 3.4 and TRC = 6.9).  Ward Timber is well above the national average. 

TRC and DART Rate

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