The National Safety Council is urging communities throughout the United States to participate in National Safety Month throughout June. The NSC is estimating 128,200 unintentional deaths in 2009, which is the highest on record. In 1992, there were a total of 86,777 preventable deaths – about 47 percent less than what is anticipated for 2009.
For each week in June, the NSC will focus on different leading causes of unintentional injuries or fatalities. Summertime is especially important as school lets out and families start to attend outdoor events or travel on family vacations. The weeks of June are highlighted as follows:
-First Week of June 1-4 focuses on summertime safety. The goal is to promote health and safety practices at home, on roadways, in the workplace and throughout communities. The NSC will offer several safety and health fact sheets with regard to key issues like distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety and home safety.
-Second Week of June 5-11 focuses on preventing overexertion. Sprains and strains in the lower back are a common type of overexertion but can often be preventable. Overexertion is the third leading cause of preventable injuries that are treated in hospital emergency rooms.
-Third Week of June 12-18 focuses on teen driving safety. Every year, more than 5,500 teen drivers, their passengers, occupants in other vehicles, cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians are killed in crashes involving a young and inexperienced driver.
-Fourth Week of June 19-25 focuses on how to prevent slips, trips and falls. Emergency rooms treat these kinds of unintentional injuries daily as falls are common among all age groups, specifically adults 55 and older.
-Fifth Week of June 26-30 focuses on staying off the phone while on the road. Car accidents remain the leading cause of unintentional deaths in the U.S. Cell phones are often a distraction that leads to 23 percent of all motor vehicle crashes.
The cost per household annually for unintentional injuries is approximately $5,900. Throughout the country, Americans and employers spend more than $693 billion on preventable injuries each year.
Other sponsors committed to National Safety Month include PDA, JLG/LiftPod, AECOM, State Farm, Toyota, and FirstGroup America.
Week 1 Safety Tips offered by the NSC for summertime include:
-Canoe safety
-Inline skating and skateboarding safety
-Playground safety
-Safe bicycling
-Summer and alcohol safety
-Sun, heat exposure and surviving hot weather
-Using fireworks safely
The personal injury attorneys at Freeman, Mallard, Sharp & Gonzalez, LLC are an experienced and dedicated group of attorneys who fight for the rights of victims and their families. If you have been injured in West Palm Beach, Margate, Miami, Port St. Lucie or Fort Lauderdale, call for a free and confidential appointment at 1-800-561-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Pool Safety PSA aimed at reducing pool accidents in Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog, May 19, 2011
Palm Beach Car Accidents Costly in Terms of Medical Expenses and Lost Time at Work, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog, May 17, 2011