Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Resolving to Improve the Ability to Flex

Today’s story is about bacteria, bending, breaking, adapting and the inertia of all existence (and New Years Resolutions of course). WOW, that’s deep. Well, if you look at the photo above, you’ll see that it is, indeed, deep and due to get deeper. What a great posting, eh: three sentences into it (four now), and you have no idea yet what my message is. Might as well keep going, then (nothing to lose).


They (whoever they are) say that success in survival is not really determined by survival of the fittest. More accurately, successful survival, personal safety and prosperity is based on the ability and willingness to adapt to changing conditions. Think flexibility or the ability to be flexible. Bacteria, mold, fungus and viruses are superb at this. If a bacteria can do it, seems to me that a somewhat higher life form, perhaps even a human, could do it as well.


I wonder if a mold spore could even begin to grasp the concepts of stubbornness, procrastination, I was here first, it’s my right, I’m too busy, I’m late, you’re in my way, I hate the cold, I hate the hot, I want to wear my pajama bottoms to drive to the store even though it’s freezing cold out, yes I know I need to walk more carefully but I don’t want to look like an old man, I always take this route to work, I’ll look like a dork if I do that, do you know how long that would take to do, this is how I’ve always done it, that’ll mean going backwards a bit, that’ll mean giving in. Y’know, I’ll bet that the mold spore would have trouble with those concepts even if we showed it a colorful PowerPoint slide program, passed a law forcing it to understand or put up some new signs directing it.


Obviously the mold spore (we’ll call it Mo for now), being such a lower form of life, just can’t think through these advanced ideas. All Mo seems to know is: if my environment changes and there is nothing I can do to fix that, then I’ll have to adapt or perish and I’d better just get started now. Actually, Mo is just a spore, and so the thought pattern is probably more like: change exist, me change now too.


That’s a pretty simple thought for a pretty simple organism.


It’s been very windy around here this past couple of months. Watching the trees bend with the wind reminded me that we (the high life forms) have developed lots of much more complex phrases and ideas to remind us of what Mo already knows. They follow along the lines of: bend but not break, go with the flow, a stitch in time saves nine, nothing is as constant as change, enjoyment comes from the ride and not necessarily the destination, you have to give and give in order to win the game, and win the battle but lose the war. And then, of course, the prayer that ends with knowing the difference between what we can change and what we can’t.


When I’m not busy looking for a new job I have a bit of time to look around at the world in motion. Have you noticed the world in motion? It’s everywhere. It’s the inertia of everything there is. I’m sitting at the tire store waiting for my oil change, and around me I see people walking in and out of the door, cars zipping down M-37 in both directions, the trees blowing, snow falling, clerks picking up the phone, the second hand on my watch sweeping, the sky dimming because the earth is rotating and the battery indicator on my computer falling, just to name a few. I’m thinking that there is no way that I can ever hope to press against this constant inertia of everything and end up winning my own war. I’m going to yield to what is and go with the flow.


Remember the photo of those snow covered cones at the top of the page (a thousand words ago)? Those are there to protect kids in an area near one of the local elementary schools. They’re still there, even though the snow is covering most of them. Yet, I know full well that some drivers will use the fact that these lame traffic control devices are obscured as an excuse to ignore them and zip through or park wherever. Actually, they’ll ignore many if other warning signs of their changed environment and just press on against what is. Somewhere today that pressure being exerted against the immovable force of what is will surely injure someone needlessly.


It’s a good time to remember (yep, it’s resolution time) that many, if not most, accidental injuries are predictable and preventable. Let’s resolve to prevent some of the injuries that could befall our families this year by bending a bit to the predictable force or what is.


Be safe.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Brake the Habit for Safe Winter Driving

Habits are hard to brake, and brakes are hard to do without. But, I'm going to ask you to drive with a new habit that does without your brakes. Let's remember what it means to be a safe winter driver.

So, last week we had our first real frosty morning of the season with a bit of sleet and a bit of ice. It didn't take long for the first slippery car wrecks of the season. Pretty normal they were, too: oops, I'm not on the road any more. Now, we always say the same thing each year: everyone forgets how to drive in the winter until we have a few days of ice. And, it seems that it is indeed true that everyone forgets how to drive in the winter until we have a few days of ice.

But, is that really true? Can someone that has lived in Michigan for years and years really forget that when the road might be slippery you need to drive differently? Nope, it's not true. We simply are too stubborn to admit that no matter what the calendar says, or how many months of non-slippery roads we've been driving on, if road conditions are different today we need to change how we drive today. It's as simple as that. It's the exact same stubbornness we have in the spring after most of the winter weariness wears off us along with the icy crust on the roads. We shift back to our summer driving habits and refuse to go back even for the last random ice events of the lingering winter.

So, let's review my one very simple rule for how to drive when the road might be slippery (no matter what the calendar says), and it has nothing to do with packing an emergency kit with flares and kitty litter: Drive as if you have no brakes.

Yup, if you drive as if you have no brakes you'll naturally slow down, allow more space between you and all other vehicles, plan ahead for turns, plan ahead for intersections, plan ahead for hills (up and down), plan your trip, leave earlier to get there on time, leave much later and just tell 'em you'll be late, eliminate all other non-driving activities in the car, perhaps decide not to go today at all.

Slippery roads do not normally cause crashes any more the clear/dry roads normally cause the crashes that occur on them, or that the bright yellow orb rising over the eastern horizon each morning causes. It's normally just that darn human behavior and our stubborn habits. Now, that deer that I didn't expect at all, well now, that might be the cause of a crash.

Be safe.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Beware the Unused Seatbelt, Even When Correctly Unused


What the heck kind of headline is Beware the Unused Seatbelt, Even When Correctly Unused? Well, I'll explain that (you knew I would).

See, when you bring your family to a Safe Kids child seat check station and we check 'em to make sure they're all traveling securely in your vehicle, we fill out a form that documents what we're doing. It's a way of making sure that we don't forget anything. Well, question #22 asks if we Discussed Unused Seatbelt Dangers. The question refers to one particular danger that you wouldn't expect, even when you are correctly leaving the belt unused. Honestly, though, there are several dangers related to unused seatbelts. First let's look at the Question 22 issue and then cover the rest.

When you install a child seat in your vehicle you're going to secure it with either the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system or the seatbelt, but not both. If you're using LATCH you'll be attaching those two hooks from the bottom of your child seat to the anchors located in the bight of your vehicle seat. Then, once you've attached the tether, you're ready to load up a kid. The seatbelt, in this case, is correctly used by not being used.

So, here's the potential problem. That unused seatbelt is just left hanging there, and some children have grabbed hold and used it as a plaything. If they pull it all the way out it can lock, just like it is supposed to. When it slurps back up into the retractor it can tangle around the child and potentially strangle them. The fix for this is to simply buckle the belt before installing the child seat. It'll remain securely behind the child seat and out of reach.

That's the issue that Question 22 is meant to address. Here are some other unused seatbelt dangers:

3. There's the smacking hazard posed by those heavy unattached lap buckles and latchplates left sitting on the seat. It's normally in the middle of the back seat of older vehicles. Unattached, they're left to swing wildly at the end of their webbing and smack into whatever is next to them in the crash. Simply attach the belt and pull it tight when not in use. Potential smacker eliminated.

2. If you have a booster seat in the vehicle and you're on your way to pick up its normal occupant, put the seatbelt around it and buckle it in anyway. Yes, even though it is not being used. See, that 20 pound seat will have a relative force of 600 pounds in a 30 MPH crash. You don't want 600 pounds of force hurling at you from the back seat. Buckle the seat in. And,,,,

The #1 unused seatbelt danger is to leave anyone in the vehicle unrestrained. In a crash, an unrestrained person hurls into whatever and wherever; often that means right out of the vehicle. Outside of the vehicle is a VERY bad place to be when a crash is happening. A VERY bad place to be. Plus, remember that 20 pound seat slamming into you with 600 pounds of force (at only 30 MPH)? Now think of a human and their heavy head being hurled at everyone else in the car. Easy solution: everyone is restrained properly all the time. Crashes happen everywhere.

Be safe.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Doak TC Weekly Safety Reminder: Beware the Backpack

It's the Doak TC Weekly Safety Reminder with an advisory for anyone picking their kids up from school (or having friends or grand parents pick their kids up at school). Please have those kids stow the backpack before getting in the car.

No, the boy in this photo is not that tall and not normally sitting quite so close to the airbag deployment zone I'm assuming. However, with his overflowing backpack still attached to his torso, he's nicely placed for maximum smacking force when the airbag deploys because grandma's foot has slipped off of the brake because she's balancing little sister on her lap and progressing through a 50-car queue that has small children crossing through it. Wait,,,,,, did I just say balancing little sister on her lap? OK, one peril at a time: back to the backpack.

This is not an unusual scenario, by any means. This is what I have seen (and photographed) at school dismissal time all over the state. Hundreds of kids are spewed out the school doors clinging to their backpacks and then slurped up into the family vehicle and whisked away with barely enough time to pull the door closed behind them. No, they probably can't fit a seatbelt on that way, and no, they probably aren't in the back seat (if a front seat is available), and no, they may not even have space to sit down so they have to stand, and no, they can't possibly fit in a booster seat, and no, they're probably not traveling lawfully and no, they may not remain in the car if there's a crash. BUT, that car's going to make it out of the parking lot as fast as it can, and, heck- they're just going home, right?

Let's review: By law in Michigan, all kids under 4 must be in the back seat, and best practice tells us that nobody should really be in that front seat exposed to an airbag until at least 13. By law in Michigan everyone under 8 years old or less than four feet nine inches (whichever comes first) must be secured in a properly used child safety seat, most likely a booster at that age. And, by law in Michigan, anyone under 16 years old must be restrained via child seat or seatbelt no matter where they are sitting.

Let's review one more thing: No matter what the law is, crashes happen everywhere and kids get hurt; often needlessly. It honestly takes very little time to be safe. Stow the backpack where it needs to be, and stow the kids they way they need to be.

Be safe.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Beware the Daily "Carnival Ride" that Squishes Kids Like Toothpaste

Yup, there's a reason why little kids aren't allowed on adult carnival rides that fling them about at various speeds and smack 'em into barriers. The rides aren't made for little kids- that's obvious. There's also a reason why carnivals have rules for this and do not leave the decision to parents and care providers.

So, I was driving home from the farmer's market on Saturday and there was a big SUV approaching in the other lane. In their front passenger seat I could see a tiny head just poking above the dash. Couldn't see most of the kid attached to that head because they were hidden below. Couldn't see the shoulder belt because, well, it's designed for an adult so it was behind the kid. This ain't no carnival ride. It's variable speed ride being operated by a human within a highly unpredictable and unforgiving traffic environment.

When the crash happens, kid will be beset by a variety of violent forces. One will obviously be the airbag that is meant to spread crash forces over an adult human. Instead it will be crashing into a small human whose unrestrained head and torso will slam into it in ways the bag as never designed to respond to. It's like asking a kid to catch a screaming line drive hardball without a glove.

The other violent force that kid will be dealing with will be that lap belt that, prior to the crash, was positioned very nicely right across his tummy filled with all of those nice squishy organs. During the crash that tummy and those organs will be wrapped around the lap belt as it pulls through the squishy parts on it's way to contacting and stretching the spinal cord. Have a look at the toothpaste tube photo at the top of the page and imagine that. This is of course assuming that kid doesn't just slip right out from under the adult lap belt and get flung out onto the road when the vehicle flips over.

Now, I'm sure that the person driving the SUV is delighted to have their small child/grandchild sitting right up next to them in the front. It's probably right where kid asked to be, and we all want kid to be happy. And, of course, they're just driving to town.

Here's the law in the physical world: A child's body parts are not developed enough to cope well with crash forces in the front seat of a vehicle until they are at least 13 years old. They just aren't. The law in Michigan may say the kids 4+ years old can sit in the front seat, but, like the carnival ride, they just aren't developed enough to ride there safely.

Here's the other law in the physical world: Seatbelts do not normally fit humans until they are at least 4' 9" tall and weigh about 80 pounds. Until a human is that size, the seatbelt just does not normally fit. A good fitting and properly used booster seat places the lap belt low in the child's hips and shoulder belt across the chest in the proper location. In Michigan that's the law until the child is 8 or 4' 9". But, guess what- in a crash, the laws of the physical world trump the laws of any state until the person actually fits in that belt.

Children 4 - 8 who ride in boosters are 45 percent less likely to sustain injuries in crashes than children restrained by belts alone. If you could reduce a child's chance of getting the flu by 45 percent by doing something just as simple as using a booster seat, most people would consider that a pretty easy rule in their family.

So, beware treating kids like the toothpaste tube. Fortunately, booster seat manufacturers are getting much better at making these valuable safety devices. Next time I'll cover how to choose one.

Be safe.


Monday, September 20, 2010

Beware the Worries 'Bout the Wrong Stuff


According to Christine Barnes, the author of the Paranoid Parents Guide, parents are most worried about their children falling victim to the following five perils:

1 - Kidnapping
2 - School Snipers
3 - Terrorists
4 - Dangerous Strangers
5 - Drugs

These are all nasty perils to be sure, and when we hear of someone falling victim to them, it's shocking, albeit relatively uncommon compared to the actual top five causes of accidental injury and death for young people:

1 - Car Crashes
2 - Homicide (normally committed by a person who knows the child, and not a stranger)
3 - Abuse of some kind
4 - Suicide
5 - Drowning

So, what's a worried parent to do? It's pretty boring, so you sure you want to know? Ok, you asked. It's seatbelts and helmets. Yup, that same old dull stuff that we've heard about for so many years.

Still the number one way to accidentally injure or kill a child (worldwide) is to transport them recklessly in a car. Another is to set them hurling down a street, sidewalk, ice covered pond, snow cover hill or vacant lot without a helmet for when they fall. Yes, falls are still the accidental injury that emergency rooms see most often for all age groups.

National stories of kidnappings and terror attacks can leave us gripped with fear, and a debilitating sense of helplessness about how to protect our families. They're tragic and sensational, but by no means the perils that our kids face on a normal daily basis. We're not helpless to protect them from their most common perils. We can use good sense and the easily accessible tools that we've been given:

Put 'em in the back seat, buckle 'em up, know what they're doing, know where they're going, put the Blackberry or cell phone down and really listen to what they're saying, make 'em wear their helmet (just like you do, RIGHT?), and help them to be observant. You have way more power than you think.

Be safe.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

If It Ain't Tight, It Ain't Right,,,, maybe.

So, how many adults does it take to install a child safety seat, and how tightly should they install it? Well, if you've been to some child seat check events you might deduce that it takes a large number of strong fire fighters jamming, pulling and heaving in such a way as to virtually weld the apparatus to the car causing the entire vehicle to shake when the seat is tested for tightness. Is that what it takes? Is that the correct method? Hard to say. Read on.

Those of us who have been at this (child passenger safety education) for a while were originally taught to test the child seat for proper installation by pulling on it at the spot where the seatbelt passes through the child seat (the belt path). If the seat didn't move more than an inch side-to-side or forward to back then it was considered a safe installation. It still is. Now, in most cases, a rear facing seat will flip up and down even when installed correctly, but that's a discussion I'll save for another time.

So, if the 1-inch rule is still in effect, what's the issue? Well, many of the long-serving technicians and instructors among us never really signed on to that 1-inch thing. We were all trained to put out knees in those seats and shove 'em as tightly into the vehicle as we could. Lot's of parents would agree. However, that's not how we teach new technicians. We teach them that the proper installation method is to simply press the child seat onto the vehicle seat with one hand and pull the belt (or LATCH connector) firmly. If the result fits the 1-inch rule then all is well.

This new method of instruction is considered appropriate for two reasons. First of all, the primary goal of child passenger safety technicians is to be educators, and not seat installers. We want parents and caregivers to leave an event with information about how to safely secure their entire family and the confidence to do it properly themselves. We do not want the process to appear so daunting that they'll never consider themselves qualified to do it on their own.

The second reason to consider the 1-inch rule to be sufficient is the actual physical dynamics of the crash. If you look at a crash test video with a child seat installed properly, you'll see that it separates from the vehicle seat as the harnesses (seatbelt or LATCH) holding it to the vehicle stretch with the crash. Yup, a perfectly installed child seat will move right off of the vehicle seat. So, that shelf liner that you used to make that child seat seem tight doesn't do anything at all in the actual crash.

So, I guess that convinces everyone that we don't need to weld that child seat to the car, right? Well, not so fast. New research and crash testing is demonstrating the possibility that the greatest reduction in crash forces transfered to the child is achieved by attaching the child more directly to the vehicle. In these crash tests, dummies restrained "correctly" endured three times the crash forces experienced by dummies attached directly to the vehicle with steel bands. Today's cars are designed to absorb the crash forces and direct them away from the occupants as much as possible. The assumption is that the crash dummies attached directly to the vehicle were more efficiently riding down the crash with the vehicle. Obviously, much more testing and research needs to be done.

Do I have you totally confused by now? Am I advocating tight makes right, or steady as you go? Well, neither, really. What's a mother to do? Here's what I would suggest:

1. Use a child safety seat all the time, and use it as best as you can. I'm still amazed about the crash reports I read where the child is ejected from the the vehicle or thrown about within it, and killed because there was no child seat being used. I've seen seats that experienced cracks and failures in crashes due to misuse, but they still ended up saving the child from death or serious injury. Some of these were even ejected from the vehicle. Use the seat.

2. Read the instructions. Yup, and read 'em both for the child seat and the vehicle. This goes for all of us technicians too. There's a great deal of good thought, testing and engineering going into these systems now. We'll get the greatest safety out of following the instructions and adapting to the technology changes.

3. There are two things to get tight to make it right. Many families work hard to get that seat secured in the vehicle tightly, but then leave Junior loose in their harness. That's probably the number one misuse that I see. Pull the harnesses tight. Junior won't mind, and if they do- tough.

4. Seek out the child passenger safety technicians in your town for assistance.

Crashes are violent and frightening events. Many of their effects are predictable and preventable, though. The injury prevention world is adapting and finding new ways of testing our vehicles and occupant protection systems. The safety rules that are true today or that were true a year ago, may not serve us as these systems progress. It's our job to be informed, keep an open mind and to adapt.

Be safe.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

A View From the Blind Spot. Time to Review Setting Mirrors.

Yup, that's me, and I'm right in the driver's blind spot. So, if I had my side mirrors set the way many drivers do, you wouldn't see me there at all. What you also see in this mirror is my driver's head restraint showing where my seating position would be. When I'm driving, my side mirrors show me what many other driver's side mirrors don't: the stuff in the traditional blind spots. Traditional mirror setting tends to give drivers a similar view out all three primary mirrors. They see the area behind the car.

I just finished my coursework for certifying as a drivers ed instructor in Michigan. We also just held a CarFit clinic for seniors nearby. In both of these programs we instruct drivers how to set their mirrors according to the BGE method. BGE stands for blind spot & glare elimination. Now elimination is a bit of an overstatement. The traditional blind spots and night-time glare are greatly reduced using this method. However, it in no way is a replacement for frequent scanning and continued head checks. Bikes, pedestrians, motorcycles and others will still tend to get lost in the blind spot even when mirrors are set this way.

So, you want to give it a try? It's simple.
- Sit in the driver's seat.
- Position both of the side mirrors so that they reflect out away from the car as far as they go.
- Lean your head against the driver's side window.
- Adjust that side mirror back until you just start to view the side of your vehicle.
- Lean you head to the middle of the vehicle.
- Adjust the mirror on the passenger side back until you just start to view the side of your vehicle.

That's it. Now, it's going to seem pretty strange at first because your side mirrors will no longer show you the view you've seen in them for the last 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 + years. Try it, though. Have a friend walk into the spot beside your car that was formally missed by that mirror. You probably picked up 2 - 6 feet or more of extra viewing.

As I said, it's by no means a replacement for the physical head check, but gives a great boost to your mirror scans and extra warnings. Some drivers love it and others hate it. The drivers ed kids don't know any different and so they just think that's the way it's done (unless their parents "retrain" them).

Be safe.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Hot, Sweaty and Smiling. West Michigan’s Newest Child Passenger Safety Advocates

This child passenger safety thing is amazing. I just spent another couple of weeks helping instruct a new crop of freshly certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians in Holland, and we did that during the hottest soupiest weeks of the summer. We all loved it.


Now, the final day (day four) of Child Passenger Safety Technician training ends with four hours spent actually doing inspections and educating parents. That means spending the afternoon in the back seats of hot vehicles, reading vehicle manuals, educating parents, wrestling with stubborn vehicle belt systems, wrestling with stubborn, tired and fussy children, redoing paperwork we’ve messed up on, washing hands and cleaning up everything when done.


That’s all the stuff that the group you see in the above photo just finished doing, and, just like all of the rest of the classes I’ve been involved with, they loved it. They loved the chance to practice what they just learned, but what they really loved was the chance to educate parents and see children leaving the event safer than they arrived. Yup, the parents and kids were just as hot and uncomfortable as the technicians, but many of them expressed sincere appreciation for the services that they had just received. So, what’s not to love about that, eh?


And so, what would the new technicians like you to think about if they were speaking to you through this blog? They’d probably ask you to keep your littlest ones seated rear facing for a couple of years (or until they reach the rear facing limits of the seat they’re using), tighten the harnesses holding the precious cargo in place (since they probably haven't been tightened since winter) and use booster seats until junior is at least 4 foot 9.


Be safe.


Tuesday, July 27, 2010

A 1st for Motorcycle Safety in Michigan

So, I've already asked you nicely to watch out for me when I'm riding the highway transportation system on the two wheels of my Goldwing. And, I thank you for doing so. Every day that I spend on my motorcycle means that the next day I am extreeeeeeeeemely careful as a traditional four-wheel driver. I watch for EVERYTHING. Shoot, that's the way that we should be driving all of the time, but, spending a day feeling so incredibly vulnerable, really reminds me how dangerous this driving thing actually is.

Now, for the first time ever, our friends at the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning and SMARTER, the Skilled Motorcyclist Association-Responsible Trained & Educated Riders, are teaming up to co-sponsor the Ride Smart 2010 Motorcyclist Safety Conference. This safety conference for motorcyclists will be held Saturday, September 11, 2010 at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

The popularity of motorcycling has risen, and along with it has come a rise in crashes, injuries and fatalities. In fact, motorcycles have accounted for one of the few increases in Michigan traffic fatalities during the past few years. September's conference will feature nationally known motorcyclist safety experts and provide workshops with information and riding techniques that participants can immediately implement to protect themselves and their passengers. Oh sure, there are door prizes, collector patches, food and networking opportunities as well, but that safety thing should be enough. Registration is only $30 - $45 and details can be found at http://smartermotorcyclesafety.eventbrite.com

Traffic safety advocates like myself are always conflicted about our interest in two-wheeling coexisting with our knowledge of the true dangers surrounding this mode of transportation. The only way that I can rationalize my own involvement in it is by working hard to promote safe operation, good sense and the use of every safety feature available to me. That includes increased education right along with the helmet and protective clothing. This new Michigan conference should be an excellent opportunity to augment that education. Why not give it a try.

By the way- if you're a motorcycle safety advocate, I suggest checking out the resources available from our friends at SMARTER. Find them at www.smarter-usa.org

Be safe.



Sunday, July 18, 2010

Beware The Sign That Doesn't

So, what is it about this sign? We put complete trust in it; trusting our own lives and the lives of everyone that we know and love. We trust it many times a day near home and around the world. Yet, it doesn't make drivers do what it says any more than a sign saying that the speed limit is 25 makes drivers proceed below 30. What's the deal?

Let's analyze it. The intent of the message contained upon this simple, universally recognized, sign seems fairly unambiguous. Stop means, well, stop: all the time. Not stop when it looks like there are other cars, or stop when I see a police officer, or stop when I'm not running late, or stop when I haven't already stopped for 5 other stop signs in the last 5 blocks, or stop when I happen to be off my phone and paying attention, or stop when I think a stop makes sense here, or the other multiple reasons why we may decide that we should actually stop when we see one of these signs.

In our town, stopping at these conflict points can seem quite tedious at times, especially when we're proceeding down a long straight neighborhood street with stop signs placed at each block. Show of hands now. How many of you have failed to completely stop at a stop sign because of that or any of the other reasons above? Yup, me too, as I'm sure most anyone that you'll see driving today has done or is about to do.

So, what can we know about these signs for sure? Well, we know for sure that sometimes drivers will come to a complete stop there and sometimes they won't. We also know for sure that everyone is assuming that everyone else will stop there and so I can trust my life to it.

As we've learned before, then, beware the sign that doesn't. Just because there's a sign is no guarantee of safety. We all need to drive as if the other driver is trusting their lives to us, but isn't showing us the same care.

Be safe.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Beware the Cross Line

It's just a bit before 1:00 in the afternoon on a typical warm summer day near Niles, Michigan (this past week, actually). Two local motorcycle riders are traveling a familiar road near home on a warm but otherwise unremarkable afternoon. Their bikes are separated from their approaching killer by a narrow painted barrier like the one you see in the photo above. This existential barrier was useless when the approaching driver crossed it and killed then both. No, police report that alcohol was not a factor.

What's remarkable about this crash is how unremarkable it's surrounding circumstances appear to be. Among the most common driver safety mantras that we have learned all of our driving lives is the one that says "most crashes happen close to home." After all, that's where we drive. We drive on well known roads during the daylight hours through unremarkable conditions. Separating us and our families from instant elimination or lifelong injury is this imaginary painted barrier measuring about a foot. We travel 30 times that distance in a second at 25 miles per hour. Imagine how quickly we cross the line at 40, 50 and 60.

Driving is a full time job when you are actively engaged in it. It's probably the only full time job you've had where your life depends on being engaged in it fully all the time. Someone who'll be hurtling at you in the opposite lane later today may be taking a break to do something besides driving so you'd better keep a sharp eye on them just in case they cross the line and you need to react. Conversely, you don't want to be that driver that crosses the line and changes the approaching family's life forever.

Be safe.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

You Won't See Me- Preventing Traffic Tragedies Begins at Home

Bear Behind
Whenever we're doing a child safety seat inspection event and finish up with a family, before they even start their vehicle we yell out CAR MOVING. This emphatic utterance alerts all others in the area to stop what they're doing, look around for children and keep them far from the moving vehicle's path. Kids are quick, kids are tiny, kids are trusting, kids don't see danger; that's our job as adults.

This is the time of year when parents call me asking about child safety seat inspections because their family will soon set out on a far flung journey in their internal combustion vehicle. They'll be traveling the freeways of the United States (the safest roadways around), and so sometime before this event they'd like to review the safety of their children. Of course, their children are at their greatest peril each day playing in their own driveway and being transported around their own neighborhood.

In 2007, 5,000 kids in the US were injured by the family car right in their own driveway or in a parking lot, and over 200 of those kids were whacked dead. How ridiculous is that? And, how quickly does that event change a family's life forever?

Make the driveway a place for moving cars and do not allow it to be used for play. And, the street, no matter what the speed limit sign says or how many warning signs are in place, is a place for cars and not kids.

Take the time (it won't take long, I promise) to walk around your car and make sure the area is clear of kids, toys, pets, shopping carts and me, no matter where your journey begins.

Remember that the #1 way to injure or kill a child is with a motor vehicle. And, that these injuries and deaths happen right around home. That's where we live, and that's where we drive: every day.

Be Safe.

Monday, June 14, 2010

More New Occupant Protection Advocates for Michigan

Behold a new graduating class of Child Passenger Safety Technicians freshly baked in Lansing last week. I (the guy showing my legs in the front row) had the privilege of spending four days with an excellent group of instructors and an equally excellent group of passionate students.

If you see any of our grads in your neighborhoods, my advice to you is to not call them child seat inspectors. Yes, that's exactly what they showed up thinking that they were going to become last week, but what they really ended up becoming were occupant protection advocates. Ask 'em about the safety of your traveling family and you'll receive kind and thorough education about crash dynamics, the safety features of your vehicle and how to protect everyone that's riding in the family car.

What's it take to prepare a group like this? Simple, all you need is a heap of child seats (a BIG heap), trained and certified instructors, lots of support materials, a variety of cars and a week to navigate through a 460 page curriculum. Most importantly, you need a room full of students that have a passion for occupant protection and a desire to educate families. Fortunately you see just such a group listening to fellow instructor Sgt. Don Morris in this photo.

Want to find one of these advocates to help your family? Go to www.safekids.org and you can search for the technician closest to you. They'll be happy to take your call and make an appointment. I'm honored to have spent the week with them.

Be safe.



Saturday, May 29, 2010

New Child Passenger Safety Advocates in NW Lower Michigan

From left to right you see Deputy Marty Makowski of the Benzie County Sheriff's Department, Michelle Stagman of Munson Medical Center Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit (NICU), Captain Anthony Posey of Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department, Nicole Beebe, Debbie Hessem and Michelle Bratschi also of Munson Medical Center's NICU, and Injury Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Ritter of Munson Medical Center Trauma Services, MSU Extension and the Director of North Shore Safe Kids. Me? I'm the one sticking my head out of the cab of Engine 11, courtesy of our hosts: the Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department.

This photo shows six of Michigan's newest Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technicians. They just completed 32 hours (four days) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's certification course that prepared them to educate families on how to protect everyone in the family car from unnecessary injuries and death. Yes, deaths and injuries from something that has the real potential of being easily prevented or mitigated: car crashes.

Jennifer Ritter and myself are the Child Passenger Safety Instructors for North Shore Safe Kids, and it was our privilege to spend this past week meeting these motivated individuals and facilitating their certification. They were advocates for children and traffic/public safety to begin with. Now, they are advocates armed with knowledge that will help them to expand their advocacy influence. You might refer to them as "child seat inspectors," but they really are educators and nationally certified public safety professionals. They join a great group of other CPS technicians here locally and nationwide that have a unique motivation that can only be understood by those with a similar calling. You can seek them out for advice and counsel here in Michigan by contacting michigansafekids.org or nationally at safekids.org .

Just one more thing: These advocate/volunteers are normally only able to do this because their employers have allowed and encouraged them to pursue such a course. The time commitment and expense are not trivial, especially in these tight times. The agencies that sponsor your local Child Passenger Safety Technicians deserve special recognition and thanks. Our North Shore Safe Kids group, for example, enjoys just such support from Grand Traverse County and our Sheriff, GT Metro Fire, the City of Traverse City and our Chiefs (Police and Fire), Benzie County and their Sheriff, Elmwood Township Fire, the State of Michigan and MSU Extension, Leelanau County, Munson Medical Center, Blair Township and their Fire Chief, the Michigan Department of Transportation, The Michigan State Police, The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Interlochen for the Arts, Traverse City Area Public Schools and others. They all see the reason for advocacy that leads to injury prevention.

If you see any of our new graduates around town congratulate them, and then show them your baby (no matter what age your baby happens to be). You might be surprised about what they'll tell you.

Be safe.


Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Dental Floss and Bike Helmets = The Doak TC Weekly Safety Reminder

It's the Doak TC Weekly Safety Reminder #9.

They say (whoever they are) that you only need to floss around the teeth that you want to keep. So, when kids ask me "when don't I have to wear my bike helmet?," I tell 'em "whenever you know for certain that you're not going to fall." Of course they roll their eyes at me and remind me that they can never know that. "Well, I guess that's answers your question, then" I reply.

Most people think that their greatest danger on a bike comes from being hit by a car, but the majority of bike injuries come from the rider simply falling down due to something unexpected or an error. The head that's on top of that falling body is going to hit the ground from a pretty good height. The skull hits the ground and then the brain hits the skull: kind'a like smacking it into a mixing bowl. Obviously that's why we wear a bike helmet. Any reasonable parent wants their little kid to have that helmet on. After all, kids can get hurt.

Yup, I saw one of those reasonable parents when I was driving on Front Street in Traverse City last week. He was riding his bike and had his really small child riding along on the same bike, nestled in front of him, between his legs on some sort of seat thing. Of course, this reasonable parent had a helmet on the kid just in case they fall and the kid's head hits the street from a height of about five feet. So, he's assuming there could be a falling hazard. This reasonable parent did not seem concerned about his own unhelmeted brain which will drop from about eight feet and smack the pavement in that same fall. After all- he's an adult and not as important as the child. He's also demonstrating to the child that someday he too will grow up to be less important and have no need for silly childhood protections.

Parents, if you're asking the question "when don't I have to wear my bike helmet?," here is the answer: when you're certain that you will not leave your family grieving for you due to a fall, and when there is no chance that your kids will see you do it. When those kids get to be near driving age and are still watching your every move ask me the question "when don't I have to fully stop my car at a stop sign."

I gotta go floss now.

Be safe.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Speed x Weight = Buckle Up. WSR #8

It's the eighth Weekly Safety Reminder, and many of us thought we were done with this one, but I guess not.

Over the past few weeks it seems like we've had a rash of traffic crashes where someone ended up being spewed out of the vehicle. Out of the vehicle is a very bad place to be during a crash. The modern vehicle is built to be a crash absorbing and occupant protecting marvel. Unfortunately, it can only protect the occupant if they remain inside the vehicle. This is accomplished by simply wearing a seat belt. Seems simple enough, but everyone still doesn't seem to be convinced.

The real tragedy here is that some people were killed as a result of traffic crashes recently even though they didn't do any of the crashing themselves. They were passengers in vehicles driven by drunk drivers or hit by stop sign runners. It appears that those killed ended up being tossed and left to end their lives in the unforgiving world outside of the vehicle.

How does a 150 pound human get pulled from their own grip and tossed so violently against their will? Here is a simple equation that we teach in Child Passenger Safety Class: Speed x weight = approximate restraining force. So, our 150 pound human going 45 mph ends up with a relative weight of 6,750 pounds to hold back. Humans can't do that, but seat belts can. Next time you let someone sit unbelted in your back seat imagine yourself being held in place by your seat belt, but your passengers smacking into you with over 6,000 pounds of force.

It's simple, it's physics, it's an unnecessary risk, it's an easily avoidable tragedy. It's time to agree to have everyone (pets included) buckle up.

Be safe.

Monday, May 3, 2010

It's Round, Safe and even Green.

No, obviously this is not a photo of a roundabout. It's just a planter in the middle of a local intersection. It is pretty, though, isn't it? See, I like to use my own photos, but I can't afford to just drive to Gaylord or Clare to photograph a roundabout for today's blog post. Actually, this intersection makes for an interesting story, but we'll leave that for another time.

So, we all know that real roundabouts are really safe intersections and that they make for great jokes in towns that haven't used them yet. But, besides being about the safest intersections, they're also environmentally friendly and less expensive to run.

Did I say that two of the primary benefits of a roundabout are their environmental friendliness and frugality? Yup, they use no electricity to run signals that they don't need, and they require no maintenance of the nonexistent signals. Here's the other big environmental saver, though: Imagine 24, 000 cars a day traveling though a roundabout that doesn't require those 24,000 cars to stop and go and stop and go and stop and go and,,,, well, you get the picture. Can't say that about an intersection controlled by a stop sign or traffic light can you?

But then, I guess we all know that not everyone chooses to actually stop at the stop signs and stop lights all of the time. I guess they'll lose that bit of freedom in roundabouts and be forced to act a bit more like everyone else in there (predictably). Darn, there go those safety people limiting our personal freedoms to endanger ourselves again.

Be safe.


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Hit Me, I Dare You. Weekly Safety Reminder (WSR) #7

Yea, go ahead and crash into me. You'll see: It'll be YOUR fault.
Yes, it's WSR #7.

Go ahead and hit me? Well that's what some of our roadway users seem to be telling me.

Our Safe Kids coordinator told us a story about a frightening traffic incident that she and her hubby encountered last week while riding their motorcycle. A kid on a bike was horsing around and strayed into the street proper causing the vehicle in front of my friends to swerve and very nearly cause a terrible crash. The kid's response? An expletive along with a familiar hand gesture thrown in for good measure.

Guess we need to cut that kid some slack, though. After all, he's just a kid. So, what's the excuse for the 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 year old kids taking similar risks? A few adult bike riders aren't just goofing around, they're using the roadway to make a statement. That statement being: I have just as much right to use this roadway as the motorized conveyances. They're right, of course, but their actions can be just as risky as that kid's, and they probably know it. That right will be of small comfort if they get whacked.

I'm one of those 50 year olds that likes to ride my bike along the side of the road almost every day, but I have great fear and respect for the power of those darn motorized vehicles. I also have a pretty good grasp of reality. That reality being the fact that many of the humans piloting those motorized vehicles do not consider driving to be their primary task. I'm sure that they don't want to hit me, but if they're really busy answering an important text message right now, they just might not notice that I'm there until it's too late.

If I'm on my bike riding side-by-side with a pal and not really holding up traffic I'm absolutely operating within the law. Unfortunately, that law won't protect me from the mom zipping her car around the curve yelling at her kids in the back seat, or the 15 year-old that got their license half an hour ago and is texting all his pals to let them know how fast he's going, or the driver who's swatting a bee that flew in the window.

One of my crash investigator pals from the Michigan State Police tells me that he expects bike crashes to increase along with the proliferation of texting drivers. The texting drivers, of all ages, tend to drift to the right and have an average attention loss of three seconds. If my biking pals are riding two abreast at that point, the law's not going to protect them from the crash. Will the driver be at fault? Absolutely. This week's safety reminder though: in the crash 'n injury battle between the bike rider and a distracted and/or inexperienced driver, the motorized vehicle is going to prevail.

Be safe.