811 Bike to Promote Safe Digging Message

American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior episodes will feature the 811 Bike on February 20 and 27

Common Ground Alliance (CGA) has announced that the 811 Bike, a custom motorcycle built by Paul Jr. Designs to promote underground utility damage prevention, will be featured on the February 20 and 27 episodes of American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior on the Discovery Channel, one of the top-rated shows on basic cable.

The 811 Bike was commissioned by One Call Concepts on behalf of the 1,400 members of Common Ground Alliance to promote 811, the national three-digit phone number that connects professional excavators and homeowners who plan to dig with their local one-call utility notification center. One Call Concepts manages one-call center operations in 14 states and is a bronze sponsor of CGA.

An underground utility line is unintentionally damaged approximately once every three minutes nationwide, and about one in three incidents are caused because the digger did not call 811. The 811 notification begins the process to learn the approximate locations of underground utility lines, according to CGA data.

Paul Jr. Designs unveiled the 811 Bike at the Greater Chesapeake Damage Prevention Training Conference in Ocean City, MD, in November, and the two episodes of the American Chopper television show will feature this event along with footage of the 811 Bike’s creation at the Paul Jr. Designs shop in upstate New York.

“One Call Concepts’ idea to work with Paul Jr. Designs on the 811 Bike is a perfect example of how CGA members are always looking for new and exciting ways to spread the safe digging message,” said CGA President Bob Kipp. “811 is more than a phone number. It’s become the team logo for all CGA members. We can now say that this logo is on a phenomenal looking motorcycle made by the best custom bike builder in the world. That’s a very good thing for raising awareness and reducing utility damages.”

One Call Concepts will take the 811 Bike on a national tour during the next several years, serving as a new way to share an important safety message at events that reach various industries and the general public.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of One Call Concepts than to see the 811 Bike on one of the most popular shows on TV,” said One Call Concepts CEO Tom Hoff. “Being on the Discovery Channel is certainly exciting, but it’s just the beginning. Thousands of people will get to see the bike first-hand during the next few years, putting 811 and damage prevention in the spotlight all across the country.”

The 811 Bike will be on display at One Call Concepts’ booth at the CGA Conference in Las Vegas, Nev., from March 6-8, and Paul Teutul, Jr. will be a guest speaker during the CGA Annual Meeting the morning of March 7. More information about this event can be found at www.cgaconference.com.

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