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The interesting thing about a Coroner's work is that you don't need to make mistakes to learn things. There are plenty of opportunities to learn from other people's mistakes. I decided to take all this useful stuff out of the dusty archives and compile a list of risky behavior that I continue to see. I hope that in passing this list on to you, we can make the world a safer place to live.
1. Allowing children to swim unsupervised for more than seconds. Children should swim using the buddy system, and know how to summon help.
2. Drinking and Driving. Alcohol is still a major factor in many fatal car accidents.
3. Bicycle riding on busy roads. Our road system is simply not developed to the point of allowing bikes to share these busy roads with cars safely. Riding at night compounds the risk. I applaud all efforts by urban planners to include dedicated bike lanes in new developments, and encourage municipal councils to adopt and develop these suggestions. In the meantime, I see nothing but trouble when individual cyclists or groups of cyclists attempt to share narrow roads and lanes with large, fast moving chunks of metal, at times propelled by impaired operators.
4. Jogging on a busy road, especially on roads that allow the choice of pavement, packed gravel, grass or sidewalk. The struggle between ego and safety can be fatal. Pick the safe path. Your valiant efforts at fitness will continue to be noticed by busy drivers.
5. Failing to wear a seatbelt. Fatalities that involve ejection of unrestrained persons ruin my day all the time.
6. Standing outdoors to watch a thunderstorm. This makes as much sense as taking shelter under a tree during a lightning storm. Raindrops will only make you wet, but lightning can kill.
7. Waiting a few days with that chest pain before deciding it is not going away. Why not use that uncertain time to do some estate planning.
8. Attempting to operate problematic heavy industrial equipment without proper training or knowledge of the equipment can have deadly consequences.
9. Ignoring extreme weather warnings because they do not materialize every time. Every family should have an emergency plan in place. It is a rough guideline of what to do, where to meet, etc. in case of a disaster resulting from heavy snow, extreme heat, floods or tornadoes. Take the time to discuss general principles before disaster strikes.
As a new academic season begins, let's all make it a safe one.
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