National Highway Transportaion Safety Administration research shows that in 2008, nearly 6,000 people died and more than 500,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver.  More than 20% of all crashes that year involved some type of distraction. Distracted driving is become just a big a hazard as impaired driving!

Distracted driving is a growing concern-particularly as in-vehicle technology continues to expand and mobile devices continue to offer ever increasing connectivity.  MetLife Auto & Home encourages drivers to ask themselves several questions in order to avoid being distracted:

• Are you keeping your eyes on the prize?  With cars more than ever resembling mobile offices, it can be easy to forget why you are in the car in the first place
• Are you awake enough to drive?  Driver fatigue leads to driver inattentiveness.  Signs of drowsy driving include difficulty focusing, frequent blinking, irritability and frequent yawning.
• Are you more interested in your cell phone conversation than the road ahead?  If you must make a call, pull off the road to a safe location.
• Do you have a designated deejay?  Simple tasks such as changing the radio dial or finding that perfect song on the MP3 player may seem harmless, but they can be distracting.  When possible, let passengers select the music.
• Are you being lazy about changing lanes?  Even with on-board technology such as blind spot and rear view indicators, the basics learned in driver's education always apply:  signal your intention, check mirrors, then glance back both ways to be sure nothing is in your blind spot.
• Are you day driving or daydreaming?  Even without external distractions, it is easy to start thinking about personal problems or work assignments.  If you feel yourself losing focus, give yourself a wake-up  call so you can concentrate on the task at hand.

Safe driving takes full concentration and attention.  Limit distractions so you can avoid being involved in an accident.

Most deaths in trenches are due to cave-ins.  Other risks include falls, electrocution, falling loads, hazardous oxygen and incidents involving mobile equipment.   Before a trench is dug, the contractor must name a competent person who knows the excavation standard, is trained in soli analysis and protective systems, can identify hazards and has the authority to stop work right away.  The competent person must inspect the trench before very shift and after anything that might increase hazards, such as a rainstorm or vibrations from nearby equipment.  The type of soil is very important in determining the stability of the excavation.  Even material that seems , such as soil with a high clay conternt, can cave in if there is accumulated water, it has been previously dug up, or is subject to traffic vibrations. 

Choosing the proper protective system depends on soil type and depth. All trenches over five feet deep should be protected. The most common types of protective systems are:  
        Sloping:  removal of soil to eliminate the chance of cave-in

        Shoring:  a lightweight, portable and easy to install system of wood or metal sheeting and supports.

        Shields:  heavy metal boxes usually used in deeper trenches more than twenty feet deep.

In addition, any trench that is more than four feet deep must have a ladder or some other means by which workers can quickly exit the trench.  Consult with Subpart P of the OSHA construction standards before starting in excavation work.