Page 11 - Tennessee811

As a Damage Prevention Liaison, I feel one of the
most important functions of the position is educating the public on the 811 process and promoting its use. Prior to becoming a liaison
and being involved in locating or the utility industry, I was still familiar with 811 as a nationwide program that dealt with underground utility safety. I was shocked to learn that lack of notification to 811 was the top root cause of underground utility damage. According to statistics in the Common Ground Alliance 2021 Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report, over
a quarter of all utility damages are attributed to no notification to 811. Even more shocking to me was the statistic that 84% of professional excavators
are aware of 811, yet 60% of all damage due to no notification was attributed to professional excavators.
As someone new to 811 and utility damage prevention, I asked myself, “Why would someone NOT call
811?” It’s the law. It’s a free service. It allows for the locating and marking
of critical utilities. Damaging an underground utility could result in service disruptions, property damage,
a violation resulting in a monetary penalty, injuries and possibly deaths. So once again, if so many are aware of the program and the potential dangers of not using it, why wouldn’t people use 811?
This all began to sound very familiar.
In 1996, as a brand-new officer of
the California Highway Patrol, my
focus was on enforcing vehicle code violations that were Primary Collision Factors. The goal was to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries by enforcing moving violations that contributed to the most vehicle crashes like speeding, following too close and unsafe lane changes. While not a cause of collisions,
seat belt usage was a huge part of
the campaign to reduce injuries and deaths in the collision reduction picture. Nationwide, seat belts had
been mandatory equipment in vehicles since 1968. California adopted a seat belt usage law in 1986, but it was only a secondary violation, meaning, an officer had to stop you for a different violation (like speeding) and if they noticed you were not wearing a seat belt you could then be cited under the seat belt law. The seat belt usage rate in the state at that time was around 70 percent. In 1993, California made the seat belt law a primary offense, meaning the act of not wearing a seat belt by itself could get you pulled over and cited.
My first year on the job meant that the primary seat belt law had been in effect for three years. Seat belt violations were easy to find on a daily basis and many of the collisions I saw that resulted in major injuries and deaths could have been prevented by seat belt usage. I found myself asking, “Why don’t people wear their seat belts?” It’s the law. It will keep you safe. It will keep you from serious injury or death...
With the observed violations came
no shortage of excuses and arguments from people I pulled over. I learned that those most adamant about not wanting to comply with the seat belt law had some underlying themes not readily apparent at the surface:
“Look kid, I have been driving longer than you have been alive.” (Someone’s experience behind the wheel will prevent them from being in a collision, so they don’t need to wear a seat belt.)
“I have been driving for 20 years
and have never been in an accident.” (Justifying that the odds are with you so you can just keep doing what you are doing.)
“There was a time when cars didn’t even have seat belts.” (Before there were seat
belts people still drove cars, so a risk is a risk.)
“Seat belts can trap you in a car. What if I crash and the car catches fire?” (Both succumbing to myths about seat belts and not understanding how they work.)
“I was in a hurry. I must have forgotten.” (Not my priority/not ingrained as part of my driving routine.)
“They are uncomfortable.” (My comfort is more important than my safety.)
And finally:
“Nobody can force me to do something I don’t want to do. I am never wearing that thing.” (You can’t force me to comply, I am just not going to do it.)
Looking at the DIRT statistics, do some of these same issues come into play with decisions to not use 811?
Do people feel comfortable relying
on years of experience? Does a past good track record put the odds in
your favor? Do time constraints and other priorities take precedence? Is the assumption that everything is a risk regardless of available precautions, therefore, why waste the time and energy?
No doubt it takes time to bring about changes when we are considering perceptions, habits, and other personal factors in our behaviors. After
years of seat belt use education and enforcement, the national seat belt use rate today is at 90.4 percent. By the end of my 27 years in traffic enforcement, it was actually very rare for me to find a seat belt violation. As of 2021, California had a 97.2% seat belt usage rate.
If we continue to work together, get a consistent message out, and always look for opportunities to educate the public on the benefits of the 811 process, we can make underground utility safety the next high-percentage compliance success story.
811: Your Seat Belt Marcus Bartholomew
TN811 Damage Prevention Liaison
2023, Issue 3 Tennessee811 • 9