In an effort to deter the theft of bikes and other property, South Sacramento has enacted a bait-bike program.

The program, which was first launched two years ago in midtown and has spread to other areas in the city, has proven to be an effective way to deter criminals from stealing bikes and other personal property.

According to officials, the bait-bikes act as a deterrent, preventing criminals who target bikes from stealing them. The bikes, which are equipped with GPS tracking devices, are set out at random times and are sent to random locations. According to Sgt. Bryce Heinlein, a spokesman for the Sacramento police, a total of 160 bait-bikes were deployed, and they resulted in a total of 60 arrests and citations last year.

Jenna Abbott, the executive director of Mack Road Partnership, said that her organization has been watching the bait-bike program with a lot of interest. She said that the people who were picked up as a result of the bait-bikes were actually linked to larger crimes, which proves that the program is effective. Read the rest of this entry »

Technology has simplified so many things in modern society. For the aging population, technology has made the world a safer place. From blood pressure monitors to medication dispensing systems, technology has made it possible for many senior citizens to retain an independent lifestyle within the comfort of their own homes.

Here’s a look at just some of the latest technological advances that are allowing seniors to live an independent, healthy and happy lifestyle.

#1) Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS)

A personal emergency response system (PERS) is a device that connects the person who is wearing it to a call center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All the wearer of the device has to do is push a button and the call center will be able to notify a family member, an EMT, a police officer, a doctor or anyone else who is on the individual’s call list that help is needed.

#2) Personal GPS Tracking Read the rest of this entry »

A motion that was put forth by Councillor Scott Nelson to inject prolific and high-risk criminals with GPS tracking devices, was unanimously agreed on. William Lake, a city in British Columbia, is the first city to support this type of high-tech crime fighting tool.

According to Councillor Nelson, the GPS tracking implants, which will be injected into criminals that have committed serious and/or repeat offenses, will allow law enforcement officials to monitor these criminals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

While the British Columbia government recently announced that they would be outfitting these criminals with GPS tracking devices in the form of ankle bracelets, Nelson does not think that they are effective enough. Read the rest of this entry »

For employers to keep their truck drivers safe, they require their truckers to be alert, experienced, buckled-up, drive a reliable company vehicle, and practice safe driving habits. They also need to implement strong employer safety programs.

There are over 2.5 million truck drivers that drive large trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And about 65 percent of US truck driver on-the-job deaths were due to vehicle accidents in 2012. During their career, more than one in three employee truck drivers experience a severe truck accident and one in eight has experienced a couple or more.

Having your drivers buckle their seat belts is not only required by federal regulations, it is effective. However, it was found in 2013 that one in six truck drivers do not wear their seat belts and as much as 40 percent of truck driver deaths could have been prevented simply by buckling up.

According to a NIOSH survey, unrealistic deadlines could lead to risky behaviors and put truck drivers at a high risk of injury. The 2010 survey was conducted at 32 truck stops in the US and there were over 1200 participating long-haul truck drivers. Out of these drivers, almost 75 percent thought they had too tight delivery schedules which were thought by NIOSH to lead them to be unsafe.

How Employers Can Encourage Truck Driver Safety

It is not only up to the truck drivers to ensure their own safety. Employers have a responsibility too. Some ways employers can keep their truck drivers safe while driving include:

• Making the commitment to driver safety programs.
• Establishing policies for driver safety and enforcing them.
• Requiring truck drivers to buckle up.
• Putting seat belt programs in place and involving the drivers in decisions.
• Promoting the use of seat belts in safety meetings and trainings.
• Going over factors that lead to crashes like distracted driving and drowsiness in their driver safety programs.
• Monitoring the driver’s speed, rapid acceleration, hard braking and other driving behaviors through GPS fleet tracking.

The NIOSH survey highlights various essential safety issues for further interventions and research (i.e. injury underreporting, high occurrence of truck crashes, noncompliance with hours-of-service rules, unrealistically tight delivery schedules and inadequate entry-level training).

Employers are recommended by the NIOSH to make sure that their expectations for on-time deliveries don’t result in hours-of-service violations, ensure the training that entry-level drivers get meets their needs and educate drivers on safe driving behavior.

Spanning a distance of more than 2,000 miles, the National Guard Iron Dog race, which is hailed the longest and toughest snowmachine race in the world, took place on Alaska’s ice-covered Big Lake in February, 2016. The total trip is likened in size of that of a trip between Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.

In the past, fans of the race were only able to keep track of the event by watching coverage on the television and by observing from the sidelines. However, this year, fans were given the opportunity to experience the race in a whole new way. Thanks to technology and GPS tracking, fans were able to virtually “ride along” and keep track of the riders’ progress.

Riders’ that participated in the race were outfitted with GPS tracking devices, which provided real-time updates on the irondog.org website. Fans of the race were also able to download an official race guide and find out more about the event on this website. Read the rest of this entry »