Did you know that 1 out of every 45 people will die in an accident? According to the National Safety Council (NSC) over 90,000 people die from accidents each year. The leading cause of death for 1 to 38 year olds is accidents! You have a 1 out of 100 lifetime odds of being killed in a motor-vehicle accident. Let’s look at some safety measures you may take to help you beat the odds.
Driving Safety: 40,000 people are killed each year in driving accidents. Lifetime odds are 1 out of every 2 drivers will suffer a temporary injury in a traffic crash according to the NSC.
- Wear your seatbelt. Drivers who buckle up have a 45% better chance of surviving a crash.
- Obey speed limits. Speeding is a factor in 30% of all fatal motor-vehicle incidents.
- Respect large trucks. You usually are the loser in a collision with a big rig.
- Pay attention at intersections. Over 50% of all city collisions occur at intersections.
- Maintain a safe following distance. 1 out of every 9 drivers is involved in a motor vehicle crash every year.
- Stay Alert. Do not use your cell phone while driving, no applying makeup, no eating, reading; you get the idea, pay attention to driving. 25% of all crashes are the result of drivers trying to do more than one thing at a time.
- Be aware that your prescription medications and OTC medications can affect your driving ability. If any medications you take makes you drowsy let someone else do the driving. Sleepiness contributes to 200,000 accidents each year according to the U.S .Department of Transportation.
- Slow down in construction zones. 800 people die each year in work-zone crashes according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Around the House Safety: 7 million will suffer injuries in home-related accidents each year, and over 30,000 die from home-related accidents.
- Practice safe outdoor grilling. Keep your gas or charcoal grill away from your siding, and don’t cook in your garage. 15,000 people head to the emergency room each year for grill related accidents.
- Reduce the temperature on your hot water heater to 120 degrees F. This will prevent scalding.
- · Install a carbon monoxide monitor. The American Lung Association reports that carbon monoxide poisoning kills 500 people in the U.S. and causes 10,000 to become ill each year.
- Know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver. There are 3,000 choking deaths each year in the U.S.
- Secure all rugs. NSC reports that 9,000 die from falls in their homes each year. Buy some rug pads to keep your rugs from slipping when you walk on them.
- Install smoke alarms. A smoke alarm cuts your chances of dying in a fire by nearly 50%.
- Store firearms securely. The CDC estimates that more than 1.2 million latchkey children have access to loaded and unlocked firearms.
- Don’t multi-task while you cook and keep a fire extinguisher handy. Cooking is the primary cause of residential fires in the U.S.
- Only climb ladders when someone else is with you and use the right ladder for the job. There are 150,000 ladder injuries annually.
- Store household cleaning products in their original containers, away from children and away from food. 90% of unintentional poisoning exposures involve common household items.
Recreation Safety:
- Drive your golf cart carefully. Drive at a moderate speed, avoid inclines and don’t over indulge in alcohol. The National Safety Council reports that 50,000 golfers require emergency room treatment each year.
- Avoid sliding when playing softball. 75% of all softball injuries involve sliding.
- Wear a helmet when riding an ATV. 75,000 ATV injuries per year require emergency room treatment. 7 million people in the U.S. ride ATV’s for work and pleasure.
- Always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. 500,000 annually require emergency room treatment due to bicycle crashes. 75% of all bicycle deaths are from head injury.
- Do not drink and boat. 25% of all boating deaths involve alcohol.
- Wear a life jacket when canoeing. 50 Americans drown each year while canoeing.
- When fishing do not cast over someone’s head. Fishing hooks cause most of the 80,000 annual fishing injures.
- Wear a helmet when horseback riding. There are 6,000 head or spinal injuries each year in horse-riding accidents.
- Wear protective elbow and knee pads and a helmet when rollerblading or skating. 90,000 in-line skaters are treated in hospital emergency rooms annually.
16,000,000 people suffer injuries from non-work related accidents; let’s practice safety in all that we do in order to beat the odds.
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