112 years ago a man died in New York City

The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

112 years ago (yesterday) a man died in New York City. That's not so unusual you might say. NYC is a big town and people die there all the time. But on Sept. 13 of 1899, Henry Bliss, a Manhattan real estate salesman, stepped off a streetcar at West 74th Street and Central Park West and was struck by a passing taxicab. It crushed his skull and chest and he died the following morning making Bliss the very first pedestrian-automobile fatality in America. {I'm sure pedistrians were killed by horses and street cars before 1899 but Bliss is the first American killed by a car.} He may have been the 3rd person in the World killed by a car, the first was Mary Ward in 1869 in Ireland. {Who knew they even had cars, electric even!, back then?}

In 2003 4,749 pedestrians were reported killed in motor vehicle crashes in the United States. An estimated 70,000 pedestrians were injured by motor vehicles. The statistics have improved slightly since then but experts think this is only because fewer Americans are walking.

Most at risk for being hit is young boys, ages 5-9, who dart into the street after a ball or just no reason at all. The most at risk for death is the elderly, ages 65 and over, who have a 20% of dieing when hit. 65 percent of crashes involve pedestrians at non-intersections.

Bottom Line

To see how common pedestrian death is in your town, check out http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/map/
Type in a city and it will show a map of nearby pedestrians who died. Click on the death icon (!) to learn more about the victim. I found the nearest to my house was an elderly man killed in 2003.

The Bovine Menace

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian."
~Dennis Wholey

According to Popular Mechanics, "Statistically speaking, you are much more likely to be killed by a cow than a shark." But Hollywood makes films about sharks like Jaws and Soul Surfer. When did you ever see a movie titled, "Cud, the Killer"?

Between 2003 and 2008, 108 people died from cattle-induced injuries across the United States, according to the CDC. During the same years, only four people were killed by sharks in the U.S. Does this mean you should scream and run in panic when you see a cow? No. A third of the victims were working in enclosed spaces with cattle. The majority of deaths involved older men who had worked with the animals for years.

Cows may look docile and dumb (which they are I'm told), but they are massive and can do serious damage when angered. My uncle had his knee smashed by a kicking cow and my grandfather was kicked in the head.

Here are some bovine safety tips:

• Avoid getting into a confined space with cows. People are killed when cows smashed them against the sides of gates, fences and barns. My mother said she carried a long pin when she walked in fields amongst cattle. She would use it if two cows started leaning in and squashing her in the middle.

• When facing an angry cow, get away immediately (but remember they run faster than you!) "Don't be afraid to kick, yell, punch, whatever," your life could be at risk and it's unlikely you'll hit hard enough to hurt a 1,400-pound cow.

• If a cow or bull is pawing or snorting, "Get something between you and her," like nearby "trees, feed bunk, or other cows as long as they're chill."

Bottom Line

A calf may be cute but not so its angry mother. Treat cows with respect.

Falling

Tai Chi

Help me, I think I'm falling
- Joni Mitchell, lyrics from "Help Me"

Ask an average person, "What is the most likely dangerous thing that may happen to you?" You may get answers like hit by lightning, hit by a car, shot by a gun, etc. What you are not likely to hear is "falling."

The Dept. of Health for New York State writes,

In NYS fall-related injuries are the leading cause of injury hospitalizations among children ages 0-14 and adults 25 years and older. Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths for those 45 years and older. Falls can result in serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or fractures. There is also a heavy financial burden to fall-related injuries with a yearly cost of $1.3 billion in New York State for hospitalizations alone.

My father's aunt had an amazing memory and was a great story teller well into her 90's. But one night she fell in her assisted living apartment and was never the same again mentally. The Dept of Health is spot on with, "Fall-related injuries in older adults often lead to hospitalizations beginning the downward spiral that can result in long-term disability or death." In a fall the brain can be bruised and damaged when it hits the skull with a smack. Nearly twenty years ago my brother-in-law's job was to hit lab rats on the head and then measure the resulting brain damage using a MRI. The goal was to discover how well brain damage could be seen in an MRI because you really don't want to open up the skull to find out the status of the brain after an injury.

Fortunately there are measures you can take to make falls less likely.

For Children:

• Use child safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs
• Never leave an infant unattended on a table, bed or other elevated surface
• Use safety straps to secure your child in strollers, shopping carts and infant carriers
• Place your child in a stationary play-station rather than a mobile walker
• Playground surfaces should consist of shredded rubber, fiber mulch, or fine sand and extend 12 inches deep and 6 feet around equipment to reduce the severity of falls.

For Adults:

• Install handrails on stairways and remove loose rugs or other clutter
• Use ample lighting throughout the home. Install illuminated light switches at the top and bottom of stairs, and night lights in the bathrooms.
• Use a step-stool and grab bar to reach objects on high shelves. Don't stand on stairs, buckets, or other objects to reach something!
• Use non-slip bath mats in the shower and tub
• Wear shoes with non-slip soles
• Talk to your health care provider about gait, balance, and strength training.

Bottom Line

The last item in the list is interesting. I found that Tai Chi greatly improved my sense of balance and has saved me from some slip and falls. Perhaps Yoga can do the same to make you more in tune with your body and strengthen it for balance. Try standing on one foot for 30 seconds. (But be careful how and where you do this - you will fall eventually.) Learn how to fall safely. Do squats to strengthen the legs and improve balance as your body changes position.

Odds of Dying

"Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

- Benjamin Franklin, 1789

When we prioritize emergency planning there are two factors at odds with each other. One is the risk of death. The other is the disruption to our daily life, well being, belongings, etc. Too often we focus on the second because a burning house or massive flood is much flashier, more "news worthy" than one person dying.

Here are two excellent graphs on everyone's odds of dying with circles or squares drawn to scale.
 

http://www.nsc.org/NSC%20Picture%20Library/News/web_graphics/Injury_Facts_37.pdf

http://simplecomplexity.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/odds-dying8.jpg

Look at the size of Heart Disease, Cancer & Stroke before we reach the first "accident" type death, Motor Vehicle Accident. For emergency preparedness I have blogged about Floods, Earthquakes, and Lightning but notice how unlikely these are to kill someone.

Over the next few weeks I'll try to work in stories about the top Killers:

• What to do for Heart Attack and Strokes?
• Cancer Awareness - self examinations, protection from the sun and Tanning booths
• Motor Vehicle Safety (seat belts, driving while texting or cell phone, driving while sleepy, hydropaning, inspecting your tires for wear, worn brakes, etc)
• What to do when Poisoned (not much to say actually except call the poison hotline, different poisons require different responses)
• Trips & Falls Hazards

Bottom Line

Keep in mind that preparedness has two roles. One is avoidance & prevention. The other is mitigation to lessen the impact or promote a more rapid recovery.

With Prevention we try to keep accidents from happening - removing fire and tripping hazards from the home, better diet & exercise, pruning that big tree limb next to the house, keeping your car's tires and brakes in good repair, etc.

With Mitigation we take action now to lessen the impact of a future disaster. This can include buying insurance, boarding the windows before a storm, backing up important computer files and legal paperwork, fire drills, having a family contact plan.

Both can be applied to death. We want to prevent accidents and avoid lifestyles that lead to early death with some of the actions described above. For death mitigation you need a Will and also Estate Planning. Have you purchased a grave site? Does your family have access to or even know about the banks and brokerages where your money is stored? Do you have life insurance?

Falling asleep at the wheel

"Sleep is like the unicorn - it is rumored to exist, but I doubt I will see any"

The Consumerist sites a AAA study of 2,000 U.S. residents that 41% of drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel, and drowsy driving accounts for about 17% of all crashes, and 2% of vehicular fatalities.

One in 10 said they did so in the past year and 27 percent of those surveyed said they were so tired behind the wheel that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open.

Drowsy driving was attributed to 730 deaths in 2009--about 2 percent of all vehicular fatalities, but an analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash data reveals that one in six or 16 percent of deadly crashes involve a driver who is sleepy and one in eight result in hospitalization. These statistics are higher than previous estimates and suggest that drowsy driving is a more prevalent factor in crashes, deaths, and injuries.

Bottom Line

The Consumer Reports recommends, "Drinking a good quantity of water helps as it prevents dehydration that can cause drowsiness. It also requires you to pull over regularly and stretch your legs for a bathroom break."

Pull over (preferably at a rest stop) and take a nap. My wife and I once did Tai Chi next to the car to wake up. Throw a Frisbee. Do jumping jacks. Take turns driving.

Caffeine may be good for a short burst but watch out for the "crash" afterwards as the body swings to exhaustion.

Turbulence

Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway. - Mary Kay Ash

Do you hate the seat belt sign on airplanes? Why do they force passengers to stay in their seats? Well a recent United Flight from DC to LA demonstrates why.

A plane with 255 passengers hit severe turbulence and 4 crew and 21 persons were seriously hurt. The plane was diverted to Denver where a medical triage center was set up at the airport and the injured sent to Denver hospitals. Injuries included bruises, sprains, whiplash and strains.

"It was a bit of a blur. People were screaming and yelling," recalled one passenger on board the flight. She also described watching as the woman in the seat next to hear "slammed into the side of the cabin, leaving a crack above the window, and a girl across the aisle flew into the air and hit the ceiling."

Bottom Line

When flying, keep your seat belt on. Turbulence can occur at any time.

Zombies!

Darkness falls across the land.
The midnight hour is close at hand.
Creatures crawl in search of blood.
To terrorize y'alls neighborhood.
-lyrics from Michael Jackson's Thriller

Here's an odd but true story via geekpress.com.

A car full of people dressed as zombies crashed on Interstate 84 near downtown Portland, Oregon, on Friday, causing initial confusion by people who witnessed the crash.

...Sgt. Greg Stewart said people who witnessed the crash initially thought the victims' injuries were much more serious, because of the zombie costumes.

"We're glad that everyone is alive, despite being 'undead'," Sgt. Stewart said, referring to the costumes.

http://www.kgw.com/news/Car-accident-victims-dressed-like-zombies-confuse-crash-witnesses-98157894.html

The danger of saying too much

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -Aldous Huxley

The ending of the article discussed yesterday, 5 things never to tell your insurer, is so good that I wanted to give it a day of its own.

Here are things NOT to do after a car accident.

* Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company. It will be used against you later on. Insurance companies must ask you for your permission in order to record an interview. Talk to your own insurer first.

* Do not make friendly conversation with adjusters. Stick to business and only tell them the "who," "what," "when" and "where." Don't tell them the how – that is just your opinion.

* Do not give out any information about your family. Do not give out the names of your doctors.

* Do not sign a medical release. Federal law protects your medical records. The insurance companies may use your release to dig through your medical history looking for a cause like dizziness.

Bottom Line

As children we are taught to be nice. To be helpful and friendly. But it can be a mistake to treat an insurance agent or any official as "a friend". I was very impressed with my wife's estate lawyer when introduced. We had a long friendly chat. Imagine my shock at learning later that our "chat" was being charged at lawyer hourly rates!

If a profressional (like a medical insurer) is super-friendly and starts asking personal questions, stop and ask yourself, "why?" Is this person actually trying to help up or are they hoping you'll let something slip that can be used against you?

When buying a house most people assume that the real estate agent is on their side. Often they are not. Some get a commission on the price of the house sold so it's in their interest for you to spend as much as you can. Others take a flat fee for their services and will put your interests first. Find out in advance whom the agent is working for - you or the home seller.

I learned this the hard way about Human Resources. I thought they existed to help employees. But they work for the company first. I once reported a concern only to have the HR person laugh at me and then blab about the absurdity of my concern to higher management.

Watch what you say to Insurers

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'
`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.'
`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master -- that's all.'
- Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll

MSN MoneyCentral has a great article called 5 things never to tell your insurer. They start the article pointing out that it is a criminal offense, fraud, to lie to your insurer. But the truth can go horribly wrong when the wrong words are used.

For example when your hot water heater breaks you might say your basement is flooded with water. But the word, “flood”, is a red flag for insurers – most policies do not cover flood damage. Fortunately insurers have a very specific definition for “flood” - water overflowing from a nearby lake, stream, river or other body of water. So with a pipe leak you have “water damage”, not “flood”.

Never say "experimental", "investigational" or "clinical trial" when you need a medical treatment that isn't a common practice. Just because it isn't common practice doesn't mean these insurance rejection terms apply to it. Mark O. Hiepler, a California attorney, advises clients to always say, 'It's medically necessary,' when referring to treatment. Also avoid the term “whiplash”. This is another red flag because of the many fake whiplash claims. Wait for a medical diagnoses and use only the terms in the doctor’s report.

Never guess or give an opinion in an accident. Just report the facts, don’t elaborate or estimate details like how fast the other car was moving. Did you measure the distance with tape? Did you look at your speedometer just before impact so you know exactly your speed? Your guess, if wrong, could harm your credibility and your claim. An insurer will ask and ask again for exact details like distance and speed that you cannot know with certainty. They are hoping you’ll give them an excuse to reject the claim. Suppose you say a car 40 feet ahead slammed on its brakes without warning and you hit it. The insurer might claim you had sufficient safe stopped distance so the fault is yours. Or they might decide you were tailgating and again the fault is yours.

Bottom Line

In most car accident aftermaths, all the facts are not immediately known. Don’t assume it’s your fault. Words like “I’m sorry” can be used against you as an assumption of fault. If you're not sure about how something happened, let the authorities and insurance companies figure it out. Ask your insurer about how you should respond to the other party’s insurer if they should call.

Stick to business and don’t get into “friendly” conversations with your insurer or a third party insurer. Your every word is recorded and will be used against you.

Oh deer!

“When I found the skull in the woods, the first thing I did was call the police. But then I got curious about it. I picked it up, and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns.” - SNL comedian Jack Handy

About ten years ago as my wife & I were driving home at dusk, a deer ran out of the woods and smack into the side of our car. For a brief moment the deer stared at me with her face against
the driver side window. It was not killed and ran away. The car however was not so lucky. The side panels for the hood and door had to be replaced.

Apparently the deer problem is getting worse. Insurance agency, State Farm, reports that Deer-Vehicle Collision Frequency Jumps 18 Percent In Five Years. The number of cars on the road has grown by 7 percent over the last five years but the number of deer collisions increased over twice that. For the third year in a row, West Virginia tops list with Michigan second for deer impacts. Collisions are more frequent during the deer migration and mating season in October, November and December.

Here’s some advice from State Farm:
· Pay attention to deer crossing signs. These are placed in active deer crossing areas.
· Deer are most active between 6 and 9 p.m.
· Use high beam headlamps as much as possible at night to see deer on the edge of roadways.
· Deer generally travel in herds – if you see one, others may be nearby.
· Do not rely on car-mounted deer whistles.
· When a deer collision seems inevitable, do not lose control of your car in an attempt to prevent it.

Bottom Line

In New York and western Connecticut, deer are everywhere. I see them grazing alongside high speed roads during my daily commute. Our home is on a deer migration path. They sleep in our backyard and eat our bushes for a few days each year.

While cute, deer can be dangerous. Deer-vehicle collisions in the U.S. cause more than 150 fatalities each year. And don’t forget moose, elk, cows and other large mammals. The average property damage cost of each incident was $3,050. Here's a US state map of deer collision risk:
http://www.statefarm.com/_pdf/collision_likelihood_09.pdf

Don’t panic trying to escape an oncoming deer. Hitting a deer is safer than leaving your lane and hitting an oncoming vehicle or a tree.

Living Room on Wheels

“When a man opens a car door for his wife, it's either a new car or a new wife.”

In this modern world multi-tasking is a badge of honor and time wasting is a sin. So it comes as no surprise that people can be found eating, shaving, texting, calling, typing, and having sex while driving. (Hopefully not all at the same time.) We think nothing of it but this distracted driving carries a high price.

AAA reports that Distracted Driving - including the use of cell phones - is a major contributor to automobile crashes with 4,000-8,000 distraction related crashes each day in America; one-half of the 6 million U.S. crashes reported annually. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) blames driver inattention for 68% of rear-end crashes. Using a cell phone while driving increases your chance of getting into a crash by 4 times. A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shows that driving while texting increases crash or near-crash risk by 23 times.

Think of driving as a full contact sport. It requires our full attention to notice little details like a child running onto the street. I listen to books on CDs and have found that either I remember very little of the CD or very little of the drive. The book “Why We Make Mistakes” tells the story of a DC tour bus driver who was angry and venting to his sister on a cell phone while driving a 12’ tall bus. He did not notice the road signs warning of a 10’ tall bridge ahead and did not notice the bridge until he crashed into it at full highway speed tearing off the top of the bus.

Bottom Line

Hands-free phones make dialing safer but the real danger is being distracted by the conversation.

Resources
Currently, 18 states and the District of Columbia ban text messaging for all drivers. For an up-to-date list of Distracted Driving laws, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) maintains a state-by-state guide.

The National Safety Council also has a nice website showing state laws.

See Cyber Drive Illinois for more facts about distracted driving.

Skateboarding

“All I wanted to do was ride skateboards - I wanted to be a professional skateboarder. But I had this problem. I kept breaking half of my body skateboarding.” - drummer Travis Barker

Yesterday I talked about bike safety and bike helmets. Many parents insist that their kids wear a helmet but did you know that kids age 14 and under account for only 13% of the bike deaths. The average age of a “dead” cyclist is 40! I never thought of biking as primarily an adult hobby.

Today I’ll look at another summer activity – skateboarding. Boarding is a young man’s sport: 6 out of 10 skateboarders injured are under age 15. Interestingly, 1/3 of all skateboard injuries occur in the first week of boarding as one learns balance and control. After one week the accident rate drops for a while but then spikes back up after one year. This is caused by “experienced” boarders trying stupid or dangerous tricks or just getting careless from overconfidence.

In 2006, about 26,000 persons in the US were treated in Hospital Emergency rooms for skateboard accidents. 1,500 were hospitalized. Injuries include sprains, fractures, contusions and abrasions. Deaths resulted from collisions with cars and from falls.

Here are some safety tips:

• Wear protective gear at all times, including a helmet, wrist guards, knee pads, elbow pads and appropriate shoes.


• Empty your pockets of all hard or sharp objects.


• Master the basics first. Learn turning and slowing techniques and how to stop properly before attempting more difficult maneuvers.


• Learn to fall on the fleshy parts of your body rather than your arms. If you know you're going to fall, crouch down so you won't have as far to fall.


• Try to relax and roll if you fall.


• Practice tricks and jumps in a controlled environment such as a skateboard park where you have access to emergency medical care.


• Never hold onto a moving vehicle while riding a skateboard.


• Do not ride on the street.


• Do not attempt to ride more than one person on a skateboard.


• Keep your skateboard in good condition and give it a safety check each time before you ride.

Bottom Line

While looking for a skateboarding photo for today’s blog, I noticed that most photos showed kids on boards without helmets. Bad idea! Just like bikes, brain injury is a leading cause of death and largely preventable with a helmet.

Recommended sites:
Consumer Product Safety Commission Skateboards (Pub #93)
City of Jacksonville, Florida: Skateboard Safety
Safety Gear – Social Skate Store, CA
Safety Gear – Amazon.com

Bike Safety

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle." - Ernest Hemingway

With summer, bikes get dusted off and cyclists flock to the roads. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, motor vehicles killed 773 bicyclists in 2006 in America. An additional 44,000 cyclists were injured in traffic. Every year, about 300,000 kids go to the emergency department because of a multitude of bike injuries. For children 14 and younger bike accidents are a leading cause of death! According to the NHTSA, the very first traffic accident in the US occurred in New York City (1896) when a car hit a cyclist. Since 1932 (when safety statistics were first recorded), over 52,000 cyclists have died in traffic crashes.

The primary cause of bicycle death is head injury. The good news is that bike helmets are 85-88% effective in mitigating damage to the brain. The bad news is that only 20-25% of all cyclists wear a helmet.

Other safety tips for cyclists include:

• Always travel with traffic. (Pedestrians walk against traffic but bikes are legally considered "vehicles" on roads.)
• Bikes must follow all traffic laws like stopping at red lights and stop signs.
• Wear bright colors to be spotted by day.
• Use a helmet light or bike light and reflectors to be spotted at night.
• Don’t pass cars on the right. The driver cannot see you.
• Use hand signals.
• Keep your bike in good repair.

Bottom Line

Wear a Helmet!

Other Bike Safety Resources:
Ten Ways Not to Get Hit (excellent advice for 10 common scenarios at intersections, etc)
National Highway Traffic Safety Admin (brochures & activities for kids)