Page 15 - Occupational Health & Safety, July 2017

rights of those injured, details on the site, and more, with fines of up to $25,000 and daily fines of as much as $1,000 for those who fail to report.”
Intro. 1446-A requires Class-B hoisting machine operators to get a license rating to use certain cranes, while Intro. 1421-A re- quires certain cranes to have GPS or other locating devices or for DOB to be notified when these cranes are moved on or off a work site and Intro. 1435-A requires certain cranes to be equipped with data-logging equipment to record operations and work conditions. Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, who chairs the Committee on Housing and Buildings, said, “Just because we are experiencing a construction boom in the city, it doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice safety precautions to keep up with the pace. Intros 1446 and 1448 moves us in the right direction in minimizing harm to workers and the public, by requiring safety plans and a safety monitoring program at construction sites and by strengthening li-
censing requirements for crane operators. These bills are for all of the workers who didn’t make it home after a day on their job site. My hope is that with due diligence and oversight, we can prevent one more family from losing a loved one.”
Washington State Distracted Driving Law Takes Effect This Month Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee signed three bills into law on May 16 that aim to reduce distracted driving and impaired driving. The bills make any use of a mo- bile phone while driving a primary offense, make an individual driver’s fourth DUI a felony, and implement recommendations from a task force on impaired driving. In- slee’s signature means the distracted driv- ing law goes into effect in July 2017.
“We’re suffering a scourge of death of our loved ones on our roadways, due to two problems: distracted driving and impaired driving,” he said. “Today I’m signing three bills to confront these scourges head on.”
Inslee mentioned at the signing cer- emony in Tacoma the case of Sam Thomp- son, a junior at Lewis and Clark College who was killed one week before his 21st birthday when he crashed while sending a text. Lavera Wade, his grandmother, at- tended the ceremony; she had worked with other victims’ families to see the law passed, according to Inslee’s news release.
The bill making use of a mobile phone while driving a primary offense is SB 5289. It exempts a driver who is using a personal electronic device to contact emergency ser- vices; the use of a system by a transit system employee for time-sensitive relay communi- cation between the transit system employee and the transit system’s dispatch services; an individual employed as a commercial motor vehicle driver who uses a personal electronic device within the scope of his or her em- ployment if such use is permitted under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 31136 as it existed on the effec- tive date of the law; and a person operating an authorized emergency vehicle.
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JULY 2017 | Occupational Health4&/20S/1a7fet1y1:15 A1M5
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