ACCIDENT PREVENTION & SAFETY ARTICLES MAIN PAGE

5/20/2021· Accident Prevention & Safety

Crossing Accidents: Who is Usually at Fault and Who is Usually Blamed

By: Ned Einstein

The most common crossing accidents are simple vehicle-pedestrian accidents where a car, SUV or pickup truck strikes a pedestrian. Because impact forces closely reflect the inverse of the square of the masses, no pedestrian is a remote match for even the slightest automobile traveling at a crawl. As a simple illustration, a 100-lb. pedestrian colliding with a 2000-lb. car will not experience twenty time the impact forces that the vehicle does.

2/28/2019· Accident Prevention & Safety

Defective Vertical Baler Causes Serious Crush Injury to Operator's Arm

By: Jeffrey Warren

I recently worked on an interesting case involving a box baler. An employee of a butcher shop put some empty cardboard boxes in a vertical box baler and pushed the control switch to compact the boxes. After the 30 by 60 inch platen weighing 851 pounds returned to its raised position, the employee reached into the open space above the bottom door on the baler and began to clear cardboard from the bale tie slots in the bottom of the raised platen. Suddenly, and without warning, the steel pin attaching the platen to the raised hydraulic cylinder rod failed. The heavy steel platen fell and crushed his arm which was outstretched over the baler door into the compaction space.

2/13/2019· Transportation

The Folly of Fake Facts - Part. 2

By: Ned Einstein

In Part One of this short series, we explored the rudiments of reaction time and braking distance. The arithmetic for understanding both concepts was learned in the third grade (multiplication), fourth grade (long division), seventh grade (fractions) and eleventh grade (drivers' education).

1/31/2019· Accident Prevention & Safety

Right Turn Only

By: Al Duncan

In my 25 years of investigating collisions and traffic related incidents, one thing I have noticed repeatedly is that right turns are considerably better than lefts. I know it is obvious and sometimes seems a little petty; however, when it comes to the safety of your family, it is a big deal. Since I am currently in the process of teaching my second child how to drive, I am harping on vehicle safety a lot and this is one of the many practices I teach. I have instilled in my children (and my wife has picked up on it as well) that they should always plan out their route and, in doing so, make right turns instead of lefts whenever possible. The “Right Turn Only” practice will make your travels safer.

12/14/2018· Accident Prevention & Safety

Permit-Required Confined Spaces – What You Need to Know to Safely Enter (and Exit!)

By: Jennifer Morningstar

According to the OSHA regulations, a confined space is anyplace that meets the following criteria: (1) Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; and (2) Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit; and (3) Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

11/2/2018· Accident Prevention & Safety

Hydrogen Sulfide Awareness: Avoiding the Ostrich Zone

By: Greg Gerganoff

Hazard recognition plays a vital role in keeping employees safe. Some hazards are easily recognized, for example an employee climbing up a 20-ft ladder while holding tools in both hands is an obvious fall hazard. While some safety hazards are immediately recognizable, others require training to spot and avoid. One such hazard is hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Training is a key method to avoid the "ostrich zone." You do not want to bury your head when facing this hazard.

9/13/2018· Accident Prevention & Safety

Children Will Fall At Playgrounds. What Shall We Do To Protect Them? A Multipart Blog Series - Part II: A Brief Summary of Playground Safety Standards

By: Jeffrey Warren and Aron Olson

Welcome to the second part in our multipart blog series examining a young boy's fall and injury at a public playground. If you missed the first part in this series, click www.warrenforensics.com/2017/10/11/children-will-fall-at-playgrounds-what-shall-we-do-to-protect-them-a-multipart-blog-series-part-i/ to read it. In this post, we will highlight some resources that designers of public playgrounds can use to help ensure their designs are reasonably safe.

9/7/2018· Aerosols - Aerosol Products

The Aerosol Laboratory: Safety Check - Ignition Source

By: John Chadwick

I have been wandering around the aerosol industry for the last 35+ years both as an employee of major CPG companies, and, for the past 15 years as an independent aerosol technical consultant. While the attention to safety issues has dramatically improved over time, I am still amazed how often the simplest safety precautions are sometimes overlooked when filling aerosols with flammable propellants. I'll save my horror stories for another time, except for one particularly relevant example at the end of this article.

7/23/2018· Transportation

Safety Compromises, Part 7: Stopping on the Wrong Side of the Intersection

By: Ned Einstein

For each route in each direction, transit stops are almost always located on one side of an intersection, not both. Stops just before the intersection are referred to as 'near-side' stops. Those just after the intersection are referred to as 'far-side' stops.

9/15/2017· Product Liability

A Viable Product vs. The Legal System

By: Dr. Carl J. Abraham

In the United States, the most litigious country in the world, a products liability action may be brought, under state law, for express or implied breach of warranty, misrepresentation and negligence. Under the theory of strict liability, a lawsuit may be initiated on the grounds of manufacturing and design defects as well as poor and inadequate warning instructions. The best defensive strategy for a company to avoid becoming involved in any of the above is to manufacture the safest product possible within parameters of economic feasibility. If said manufacturer can vouch for safety factors in the design, production, testing, inspection and evaluation of its product as well as attentiveness to consumer complaints, it will be more likely to avoid litigation or at least be able to prevail in the courtroom.