Representatives from John Deere Construction & Forestry, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) rang the ceremonial closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, August 20, to promote awareness of underground utilities through the use of the national 811 call-before-you-dig phone number. Though awareness and use of 811 has significantly decreased the number of underground utility strikes in the U.S., the fact that there are still fatalities and damages hitting gas and utility lines underscores the need for a continued safety campaign.
"It's not enough that the number of strikes has decreased in each of the last five years, because even one strike is too many," said Bob Kipp, president of the CGA. In 2004, it was estimated that there were 450,000 instances of damage from striking underground lines. However, as a result of the work of CGA and its many supporters, that number has decreased by over 60 percent to 170,00 damage in 2009.
"Through our support of CGA and 811, we strengthen our commitment to our customers. Our customers are out first focus and this initiative saves lives," said Michael Mack, worldwide president, John Deere Construction & Forestry. "Beyond personal safety concerns, the potential property damage, inconvenient service outages and the hefty fines to equipment operators resulting from digging accidents makes the 811 service incredibly valuable." To further encourage safe digging, John Deere is also sharing portions of safety videos on YouTube beginning next month. The first video, featuring excavators, will be posted at http://www.YouTube.com/JohnDeere
Source: Damage Prevention PROfessional magazine- free subscription here.
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