Panish Shea & Boyle Blog

We’ve been using this week to bring you advice geared toward ensuring you have a safe Memorial Day weekend.  We’d like to close out the week by doing the same, explaining the steps you can take if you’re to ensure safety before taking a trip with your family.  The advice hails from the Indiana State Police.

Safe preparation begins prior to even leaving your home.  You must make sure that you have all the equipment you’re going to possibly need.  If someone in your household uses prescription medications, carry an ample supply on the off chance that your plans get extended longer than you would have thought.  Also carry health insurance cards on your person in case an emergency prompts you to seek out medical care.

Your vehicle has to be gone over so that you can be sure it will transport you and your family safely.  All the safe driving in the world might not matter if you’ve neglected to get your oil changed at proper intervals or failed to pump the proper level of air into your tires.  All fluids should be topped off, and you should have on hand the types of gear that can get you back on the road quickly if something like a flat tire or other defect sidelines the vehicle.  Antifreeze and oil could be kept in a tool box, as can a flashlight, a wrench, and various other tools.

Do you have AAA or some such travel assistance membership?  If not, you might consider it.  You can keep such a card in your wallet just in case if you ever need assistance.  When it comes to those other cards in your wallet, your credit and debit cards, take care while in an unfamiliar environment.  Don’t let them leave your sight unless you’re paying something like a restaurant bill, and be wary of those who take an unwanted interest in the information contained therein.

You should fill a trusted acquaintance in as to your travel plans, and if things change, you should inform them of the alteration.  That way, when an emergency does occur, that person can alert the proper authorities if need be.  You might also have this person come by your home on a daily basis to ensure that things are as they should be.

When it comes to leaving the home, make sure you’re not inviting thievery.  Stop newspaper and mail service so that the accumulation of such doesn’t tip off burglars, or else have the aforementioned acquaintance pick up the material on a daily basis.  Lock the doors, but perhaps leave some lights on, preferably on a motion timer, so that it would appear that someone is home.  Also unplug all small appliances that might pose a shock, fire, or short circuit hazard.

You’re ready to go.  Be safe on the roads, and enjoy your trip.

The Food and Drug Administration has come out with a news release that seeks to explain their various efforts to help women understand how to maintain a healthy heart.  In addition to making the general audience aware of the resources available, the agency is also explaining the important steps that can be taken to ensure safety.

First, those concerned about maintaining a healthy lifestyle are advised to check out the FDA’s “Heart Health for Women” website.  The Office of Women’s Health Director extols the virtues of this site, citing its ability to help an individual drastically cut down on the risk of heart disease, which the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute estimates accounts for 25% of fatalities among females.

A cardiologist with the FDA explains the risks of heart disease tend to increase once a woman experiences menopause.  This can typically be attributed to a decrease in estrogen levels.  It should be noted, though, that hormone replacement is not recommended by the American Heart Association in order to mitigate the risks of heart disease.

To ensure your ongoing health, make sure to speak with a healthcare professional, especially if you suffer from diabetes or heightened cholesterol or blood pressure.  Smokers should take pains to quit, and although taking a daily aspirin might be an option, you must speak with a doctor before doing so.  Pay attention to food labeling, and learns the various signs that could be indicative of a heart attack so that you can react appropriately.

Might Hollywood have a role to play in curbing distracted driving across the country?  One Harvard official thinks so, and his previous efforts to reduce drunk driving along our nation’s roadways seem to back up his assertions.

The director of Harvard’s Center for Health Communication is basing his call to action on work done in the 1980s. At that time, he and a group of like-minded individuals worked with various writers and producers in the television industry to get them to promote a message about the importance of having a designated driver.  Those efforts led to references in such revered shows as “Cheers” and others, and the professor says that the term entered the national vocabulary just four years into the effort.

Now, he wants to apply those same tactics to the issue of texting and driving.  He will form an advisory board whose duty it will be to get in touch with those persons behind current television shows.  The board will encourage those parties to drop in lines about people restraining themselves from texting.  The hope is that subtle references to avoiding distracted driving will go much further than a campaign lambasting viewers for their behavior ever would.

Stay tuned to your television screens, and make note of any instances of a driver putting down their phone when they start the vehicle.  It might be the result of this behind-the-scenes safety initiative.

Parents with children of driving age might be worried about the reckless habits their teens might develop while behind the wheel of an automobile this summer.  If you fit that bill, then you might consider talking to your teen about safe driving using the tips offered by GEICO in a new report.

The insurance agency explains that texting at the wheel will be the most important subject to go over with a teenager.  Parents ought to explain the risks to their kid, and to enforce good behavior, it’s imperative that you too refrain from texting or even talking on your cellphone while driving.  If a teen sees you doing it, they’ll be far more likely to engage in the behavior.

Distractions also crop up when too many people are in your teens’ car.  Put a cap on the number of friends your teen is allowed to transport at any given time, and ask that everyone in the vehicle puts on their seatbelt.  Even if your teen wears his or her seatbelt, if the person behind them doesn’t, they could severely injure a teen driver if thrust forward.

Your teen should also be made aware of the dangers of alcohol consumption and drugs.  Not only could engaging in such a hazardous activity prior to or during driving lose them their license, but the threat of a fatal accident rises dramatically.

We recently brought you word of the results of California law enforcement officials’ distracted driving crackdown in April, and now further information has been provided.  Although cellphone usage appears to have decreased as a whole, that isn’t the case with texting.  During a previous observation period, only 1.7% of drivers could be described as texting at any given time, but that rate rose this year to 2.5%.  These numbers were compiled by deploying observers to watch over 6,000 drivers at various California locales over the course of three months.  And because these persons were only able to record instances where texting or cellphone usage could be identified, there’s a pretty good chance that the aforementioned percentages are at the low end of the spectrum.

For more information, follow this link.

We’ve discussed pool safety tips in the recent past, but they certainly bear repeating ahead of a long weekend that will find people across California heading out onto the water.  A new report finds various officials in Orange County (Florida) detailing some vital steps to take to ensure safety.  First, make sure that kids are supervised around bodies of water at all times.  Explain to children that horseplay and going underwater to see who can hold their breath the longest are unacceptable activities.  You or someone in your group should have an understanding of CPR, and a cellphone should be on hand so that you can call for help should an emergency arise.  If you have a pool or jacuzzi, make sure to cover them when not in use and lock doors that lead to the unit.  Should a child go missing, check the water at once.

For more tips, click here.

Cadillac SRX automobiles of the 2013 model year are being recalled by General Motors because of a potential issue with the 18 inch wheels available on these units.  Around 18,871 vehicles might be impacted by the problem, which would revolve around potential loosening of the lug nuts on these wheels.  This can lead the lug nuts to fall off completely, which can cause a fracture to crop up in the wheel studs.  All of these things could prompt the wheel to be dislodged from the vehicle completely, an issue that can prompt a loss of control and subsequent crash threat.  The recall is set to start next Monday, at which point owners can expect to hear from GM.  A free tire rotation and wheel nut replacement will be carried out by dealers for those who bring their vehicles in.

Click here for more about the recall.

No matter where you go or what you do for Memorial Day, you absolutely must make sure that you’re ensuring safety at every turn.  Whether you’re traveling or inviting guests into your home for a get-together, you could certainly benefit from some of the safety tips included in a new report.

Let’s start with the precautions to take if you’re taking a road trip over the long weekend.  Although many people will be imbibing cocktails at barbeques and other Memorial Day parties, you absolutely should not drink if you’re going to be driving.  You might say you’re going to just have a couple beers, but as the party goes on, it’s easy to lose track of your alcohol consumption.

If you do insist on drinking at a party, you must have a designated driver on hand.  Otherwise, you imperil yourself and your fellow travelers, and with police presence ratcheted up this weekend, you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

The other place alcohol has no place?  On a boat.  Many people will take to California’s beautiful oceans and lakes this weekend for a little sun, but if you drink alcohol out on the water, your chances of drowning increase dramatically.  You also shouldn’t be controlling the boat in the first place if you’re inexperienced in that regard.  You ought to have a group of people with you anytime you head out on the water, whether in a boat or just to take a dip, and it’s imperative to make sure you put on a life jacket every time you get on a boat.

When you are traveling to your destination, eliminate distractions, and always have your seatbelt in place.  No matter where you travel, you should have some idea where to go to seek emergency care if someone gets hurt badly.  You don’t want to waste precious time looking up directions.

But maybe you’re hosting a party.  If that’s the case, you still can’t let safety lapse.  With guests entering your home, you take on a host of responsibilities that shouldn’t get short shrift.  For one thing, know how to handle a grill if that’s your cooking weapon of choice.  Keep it far from an area where a fire hazard becomes a possibility, and make sure you know the proper way to prepare food.

When you do prepare food, you ought to know how to eliminate the threat of foodborne illness.  The last thing you want is to be held liable for a group of guests that become incredibly sick.  Meat should immediately be slapped onto the grill rather than being left outside in the sun, and you should cook the meat completely.  A guest might want a piece of meat as rare as possible, but you ought to insist that they let you heat it a bit longer.

Last month found the California Highway Patrol and more than 250 other law enforcement organizations cracking down on distracted driving.  Now, just in time for Memorial Day weekend, we finally have an idea of how successful the operation was as a whole.

All in all, 57,000 motor vehicle operators were cited for using their cellphones in some manner at the wheel.  When you take into account the other types of distracting behaviors that drew the ire of the CHP and various local officers, a total of 60,500 citations were issued.  A typical month in California brings about 36,000 tickets for distraction.

Although that’s certainly a lot of distraction on our roadways, the good news is that the number of drivers who appear to be using their cellphones is actually on the decline.  Last year, it was estimated that 10.8% of drivers used their cellphone at any given time along the road, but that number decreased dramatically to 7.4% this year.  And the number of people who had their phones placed to their ear dropped by nearly a third.

To make sure that these trends continue and that the CHP doesn’t have to issue tens of thousands of tickets every month, officials ask that a cellphone be stowed someplace that it won’t pose a temptation.  If a call must be made, a vehicle should be parked.

Are you hosting a get-together for friends and loved ones this Memorial Day?  If so, then your porch might be overly stressed by the number of people who gather for the festivities.  This can create a serious hazard, especially if your deck is older or if the entire structure suffers from shoddy craftsmanship.

To make sure that your guests are protected and you thus aren’t held liable for the injuries which can occur should a deck collapse, you might want to look to the safety tips offered in a new report out of Chicago.  That city suffered from nearly 1,300 complaints in regards to a potentially hazardous porch last year, which is actually a significant drop from 2006, when over 2,300 porches were reported.

Ensure that your deck hasn’t accumulated excessive rot or damage, often incurred when the unit has taken on water.  Sometimes, this type of hazard might not be visible to the naked eye, and you thus want to conduct a once-over of the structure to see if there are any weaknesses or other flaws.  Excessive wobbling when simply walking along the deck could be indicative of a potential threat.

Make sure the deck is anchored and bolted properly to the ground as well as to your residence, and make note of any planks and guardrails that jostle when stepped on or pressed against.  If you notice danger, take the party inside, and call the appropriate local officials to obtain an inspection of the structure.