Safety
Know before you go: Hurricane safety tips for new coastal residents
Almost 100 million Americans live within 80 kilometers of a coast and so risk being in the path of a hurricane. Although we haven’t seen a major hurricane since 2005, this might just be the calm before the storm. The long-term effects of previous hurricanes are still being felt, which can influence people’s decisions on […]
How to make an evacuation plan for your small business
If you think an evacuation plan is only necessary for large-scale industries, multi-story buildings, and sprawling offices, think again. After OSHA fined JJ’s Restaurant in Kansas City for not having an adequate evacuation plan at the time of a gas explosion and fire earlier this year, businesses including restaurants in Kansas City are mulling over […]
Distracted driving: are unrestrained pets more dangerous than texting or talking?
Hate restraining your pet while you’re driving? You might be putting its life in danger, not to mention your own. Feeding, petting, and playing with your pets while driving can be as dangerous as talking on a cell phone behind the wheel. Not to mention the fact that pets may cry or move around unexpectedly. […]
This car “safety feature” actually puts you in more danger
Car manufacturers are introducing voice-to-text systems enabling drivers to hear and to reply to texts and emails while keeping their eyes on the road. While these systems may seem safe, an American Automobile Association (AAA) study reveals that they are actually more distracting than hands-free phones, hand-held phones, or listening to the radio or audiobooks. Why […]
Emergency response teams – what’s taking so long?
The Problem with Emergency Response Disaster strikes. You rush to the phone and dial 911. As you watch things get worse — your child still choking, your home still burning, your elderly relative still in pain from the fall — the clock keeps moving. A full fifty-eight minutes later emergency services finally arrive on the […]
Evacuation Heroism: Among the wreckage of the Asiana plane crash
While a full investigation of the Asiana Flight 214 plane crash is still at least a year away, it is clear that many things went wrong during the landing, evacuation and emergency response efforts on the July 6th disaster. That only three of the 307 passengers died is a miracle and remains as one of […]
New device senses and protects children left in hot cars
Three undergraduate engineering students from Johns Hopkins University may have finally found a reliable solution to the problem of parents inadvertently leaving their children in hot cars. The young inventors – Anshul Mehra, Yejin Kim, and Jeffrey Kamei – tweaked technology from a Kinect motion-sensing device (normally used with the Xbox 360 game console) and […]