NSC Declares June National Safety Month

In the hopes of increasing public safety, the National Safety Council (NSC) has declared June to be National Safety Month. This tradition continues to highlight how people are injured and killed at work, at home, and on the road. All concerned citizens should review the materials the NSC has made available on their website and commit to increase awareness among family and friends about how to minimize the risk of injuries and fatalities.

The Statistics

One reason that National Safety Month is so necessary is that accidents continue to be a leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, accidents have risen to the #3 cause of death for the first time in history. Preventable deaths are also on the rise in absolute numbers up 10% in 2016 alone. Preventable deaths claim the lives of 442 each day a staggering number.

The leading accidents and causes of unintentional injuries include:

Drug overdosing and other unintentional poisoning deaths: about 47,500 deaths a year (14.8 per 100,000 people)
Motor vehicle traffic accidents: around 37,750 deaths per year (11.7 per 100,000 people)
Unintentional falls: 33,381 deaths a year (10.4 per 100,000 people)

All told, unintentional injury deaths total a little over 146,500, meaning 45.6 deaths per 100,000 people. These numbers are far too high given that these deaths are typically preventable.

Fighting Back Against Drug Overdoses

As the number one cause of accidental death, drug overdoses have been in the news because of the opioid crisis. Indeed, the increase in drug deaths is not attributable to cocaine or other street drugs. Instead, the most dangerous drugs are prescription painkillers, which are extremely addictive. Once addicted, many people ingest too many pills at once and die from overdose.

According to the NSC, concerned community members can take several common-sense actions that will reduce the incidence of opioid overdoses in their communities. For example:

Talk to your children about the dangers of taking any drugs, including prescription drugs. Your children might not think that painkillers are particularly dangerous, especially when the media has until recently focused on street drugs like heroin.
Properly dispose of painkillers by locating a disposal site near you. Many people become addicted because they have access to a family member's unused prescription drugs.
Start a safe community initiative in your hometown. In Madison, Wisconsin, for example, concerned citizens and organizations joined together to improve the availability of help by creating a Parents Addiction Network that provided resources for treatment and counseling.

Medical providers can also reduce the incidence of drug overdosing by prescribing fewer opioid painkillers. The number of painkillers prescribed directly correlates to the number of accidental overdose deaths.

The opioid crisis is complex and no silver bullet exists for eliminating all overdose deaths. Nevertheless, following the tips above can dramatically reduce the number of addictions and overdoses.

Improving Traffic Safety

Given how many traffic laws are on the books and the efforts to improve vehicular safety, it is surprising how many fatalities continue to occur in traffic accidents. Improving safety will take a concerted effort. Steps you can take to reduce the risk of accidents include:

Obey all traffic laws but assume that other drivers will not.
Pay close attention to traffic at intersections and always yield to other drivers even if you have the right of way.
Minimize road rage by pulling over if you feel frustrated by traffic. Refuse to antagonize someone in the grips of road rage by avoiding eye contact and falling behind them so to put some distance between you and aggressive drivers.
Give yourself adequate time to get to your destination. When pressed for time, people tend to drive more recklessly.
Stay focused on driving. Turn your cell phone off and keep your eyes on the road. If you need to check email or send a text message, pull over to the side of the road.

Another serious cause of traffic accidents is alcohol. According to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, drunk driving contributed to 5,233 crashes in 2016. Another 461 fatalities were also alcohol-related. If you suspect a driver is intoxicated or high, call the police immediately to report it before that intoxicated driver kills someone.

Reducing Injuries at Work

Workplace safety initiatives unfortunately receive little attention. Federal and state regulators are only able to personally inspect just 1% of all workplaces under their supervision. Although these agencies publish voluminous safety rules, many employers routinely violate those rules without penalty. Workers who want to improve the safety of their workplaces can take action:

Form a safety team of people worried about workplace hazards. Ideally, members of the team should come from all levels of the organization, from the shop floor to upper management. This diversity can encourage buy-in from others. Make sure the team members share a united concern for safety.
Know how people perform their jobs. You can''t make a job safer unless you know how employees actually perform it. This is another reason why you need employees from the shop floor through management to participate.
Anticipate resistance from management. Improving safety by offering training can cost time and money. Management might balk at spending money on something not perceived as a problem.