S+H Staff

In December, the National Safety Council presented Superior Safety Performance Awards to two companies and Safety Leadership Awards to 16 companies.

Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s much-anticipated final rule on hours of service, published Dec. 22, retains the current 11-hour daily driving limit for commercial motor vehicle drivers but limits the previously unrestricted 34-hour restart provision to once every 168 hours and mandates at least two nighttime rest periods per reset.

Established in 2004, the Joseph M. Kaplan Safe Driver of the Year Award recognizes professional drivers throughout the country who have driven a significant number of miles and/or years without incurring a preventable collision.

Washington – A new report cites a lack of safety management, ineffective regulatory oversight and poor safety culture as factors in the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Washington – Despite slight increases to funding levels for both OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the fiscal year 2012 budget bill (H.R. 2055) restricts the agencies’ pursuit of some rulemakings.

Washington – After several close calls during which a government shutdown loomed, Congress finalized a budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2012, providing some occupational safety and health agencies with a slight funding increase.

Washington – Overall transportation fatalities decreased by about 3 percent in 2010 despite fatality increases among medium and heavy trucks, rail, pipeline, and other categories, according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Washington – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a notice of proposed rulemaking intended to help prevent drivers of vehicles with keyless ignition systems, such as push-button starts, from unintentionally leaving the vehicle while the engine is running or when the transmission is not locked in park.

Great Neck, NY – First responders exposed to toxic dust at the site of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks suffer from asthma at a higher rate than the general population, according to research from the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, a nonprofit network of several hospitals, long-term care facilities, and trauma and outpatient centers.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency may have endangered workers and the public by authorizing unapproved methods to demolish buildings containing asbestos, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.