Tornado Season, Crowded Highways, Seat Belts
Emergency Telephone Number. M.C. Tank now has an emergency phone number that will ring into several cell phones in succes-sion. If you have an emergency such as an accident, spill, injury, etc. dial 844-4MC-SAFE (844 462-7233).
Seat Belts. Vigillo is the provider that this company uses to collect our CSA scores. They recently released a report concerning seatbelt violations that I thought should be shared with everyone. According to their data the State of Pennsylvania issued over 10,000 seat belt tickets to truck drivers during all of 2013 and 2014. According to their data no other state issued more than 6,000 seat belt tickets during that same time period. According to Vigillo’s national report there is a seasonal trend. Nationally, in 2013 there were over 6,000 seatbelt citations during both months of July and August. During the periods of December 2013 through February 2014 there were about 3,000 seatbelt citations written nationwide. Keep in mind that a failure to wear a seatbelt citation is a 7 point violation of the Unsafe Driving BASIC. One seatbelt citation can have a severe negative impact on the driver’s CSA score as-well-as the company’s CSA score.
Crowded Highways? No, it is not your imagination, the roads are more congested. According to the Federal Highway Administration, Americans drove more than 237 billion miles this past January. This represents a 4.9% increase from the previous January.
Tornado Season. I’d like to remind everyone about protecting themselves and their loved ones in the event of a tornado. The good news is that deaths from these storms have decreased in the last 50 years in spite of the storms striking more densely populated areas. Weather forecasters are very good at warning the public of severe weather conditions. It is up to you to heed their warnings. Here are some guides to use to protect you, your loved ones, and coworkers in the event of a tornado:
If you are in a building and a tornado warning is announced for your area, seek protection in a shelter, basement, or an inside room preferably on the south west corner and one without windows such as a closet or a bathroom. Avoid larger rooms like those found in public buildings such as auditoriums, gymnasiums, etc. If you have time take a pillow or mattress with you to protect yourself from debris if the tornado strikes the building. I watched some footage last night where children were instructed to use textbooks like helmets to protect their heads from debris. Crouch down and cover your head and neck. Remain in the shelter until the storm passes.
If you are in a high rise building, seek cover in interior rooms or hallways. Avoid rooms with glass walls and windows. Central stairwells are also good, but elevators are not since power could be lost and you would be trapped inside of the elevator. Crouch down and cover your head and neck. Remain in the shelter until the storm passes.
If you are on the road and find yourself in the path of a tornado, you need to abandon your vehicle and seek a shelter. A tornado can blow a car or truck off of the road, pick it up and hurl it, or tumble a vehicle over and over. Many people have been killed in cars while they were trying to outrun the tornado. While it might be possible to escape the path it is generally not a good means of escape. A good shelter could be in the upper portion of an underpass, in a culvert, or a ditch. Crouch down and cover your head, neck and eyes. Remain in the shelter until the storm passes.
If you are in a mobile home, you need to seek shelter outside of the mobile home, in any of the suggested places above. Unfortunately, unless specifically reinforced for high winds, mobile homes offer very little protection when hit by a tornado or high winds. Crouch down and cover your head and neck. Remain in the shelter until the storm passes.
Once the storm passes, avoid walking through debris and around down power lines. Seek medical attention for anyone who is injured. Also keep an eye on the weather for a second or third tornado.
Tornado Rating System. The US Meteorological System has long time established a system of rating known as the Enhanced Fujita scale better known simply as “EF” Most of us only know that the higher the EF rating the greater the storm. Here’s a little information about the system:
- EF 0 and EF 1 Tornados include 60-70% of the tornados in the United States. EF 0 tornados are considered Gail force and EF 1 tornados are considered weak and often do not touch down. These two levels account for roughly 5% of the tornado deaths.
- EF 2 and EF 3 Tornados represent upwards of 35% of the tornados in the United States. EF 2 level of tornados are considered strong. EF 3 tornados are considered severe. The surface area is described as rough, rapidly changing, and with small scale turbulence that seem to hit and skip areas. So their paths are not predictable. These levels of tornados represent 30% of the tornado deaths.
- EF 4 and EF 5 Tornados represent only about 2% of the tornados in the United States. EF 4 level of tornado is described as violent and EF 5 level of tornado is described as incredible. These two tornados represent 68% of the tornado deaths. The broad core diameter of these tornados is often upwards of .3 miles wide and will usually continue its path for many miles. Because of their size they tend to loiter or move at a slower pace than the lower level tornados. The internal speed is very high and violent.