DES PLAINES, Ill. --- The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), along with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), are preparing to ramp up the public's focus on workplace safety May 6-12. The week is designated as North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week. In partnering with OSHA and the agency's Alliance Program participants, ASSE's 30,000 safety professionals and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) expect to reach millions of people and tens of thousands of businesses by sharing safety ideas and solutions. "This year I encourage you to focus your NAOSH Week efforts on transportation safety," ASSE President Donald S. Jones said in his April ASSE Professional Safety magazine editorial. "In the U.S. alone, transportation-related incidents continue to be the leading cause of on-the-job deaths. In 2004, some 43 percent of the 5,703 workplace fatalities were transportation related. Overall, 6,159,000 traffic crashes were reported in 2005, causing 43,443 fatalities and 2.7 million injuries --- costing us all an estimated $250.6 billion." According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.2 million people were killed in roadway crashes in 2002 and another 30 to 50 million people are injured or disabled each year. According to WHO, roadway traffic deaths worldwide are on the increase. During NAOSH Week and throughout the year, ASSE, OSHA, CSSE and its partners make available tools and information to help combat the rise in transportation fatalities. These tools include the free ASSE Transportation Practice Specialty NAOSH newsletter, "TransActions --- A Call to Action," which has nine articles from transportation experts on key topics. These topics include how fleet operators can prepare for a possible avian flu outbreak, the value of a written safety program, vehicle safety programs and maintenance, accident investigations and much more. This is available through ASSE at www.asse.org/naosh07. Available from OSHA is "Guidelines for Employers to Reduce Motor Vehicle Crashes," developed by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and OSHA to reduce motor vehicle-related deaths and injuries in the nation's workforce. It outlines 10 steps for building a driver safety program in the workplace. Also included are examples of successful safety programs, key traffic safety issues to address in the workplace, instructions for calculating an organization's loss from vehicle crashes, and a list of resources to help fine-tune a vehicle safety program. Other tools available include the ASSE "Preventing Roadway Crashes" brochure and the NAOSH '07 poster, which highlights the winners of the 5th annual ASSE NAOSH kids' "Safety-on-the-Job" poster contest from children aged 5-14. As a result of the OSHA Alliance Program, major organizations and trade associations representing thousands of companies will join with OSHA, ASSE and CSSE officials to kick off NAOSH Week on May 7 at the U.S. Department of Labor/OSHA in Washington, D.C. and afterwards on Capitol Hill. Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., will host the event and will also recognize the winners of the "Safety-on-the-Job" poster contest. Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with groups committed to safety and health, including businesses, trade or professional organizations, unions and educational institutions.