Tag Archives: habit

General Safety Issues

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FATALITY DURING ACCIDENTS (GUEST POST)

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Do you buckle your seat belt before driving the car? Well, this is where eighty per cent of the accidents turn fatal. If you don’t protect yourself, you cause harm to yourself and ultimately to other passengers in the car. You should know that possessing excellent driving skills is not important. What is more important is whether you wear a seat belt or not. It is a basic driving requirement that even the best car drivers in the families don’t follow. Your family’s protection should always be your major concern while driving in local areas or highways. Thus, here are crucial factors elaborated to help you understand the impact of seat belts while driving.

Makes a Small Accident Bigger:

Sometimes, due to careless driving, the small accidents turn into life-taking ones. When you are taking your family for a lunch treat or outskirts, you are the person responsible for any mishaps or accidents. As a driver, you should confirm that your children, wife and parents have buckled their seat belts properly. You have to know that it is your responsibility to take care of the environment as a citizen. Taking responsibility will always serve you better rather than ignoring your rights as a responsible family member.

Becomes a Habit:

You must have seen a lot of people who drive cars around you. For instance, you can take your own friends and family members as an example. You must have noticed them not buckling up the seat belts before driving the car. As explained earlier, this is a common cause for accidents. However, when people don’t prefer wearing seat belts across them, it becomes an impeccable habit. Indeed, the same habit can lead to fatal accidents of the family members and friends. Therefore, now you are the one who should decide how protectively you want to drive your car.

Money or Life Protection:

It is not always about money. In cases like accidents, it is always about life. So, it doesn’t matter whether how much money you have spent to purchase your car. When accidents happen, it all comes down to how much you got injured or the number of lives caused due to one mistake. However, one of the main reasons of fatal accidents is improper car functions. That is why, you need to keep your car in a good condition always. But, this doesn’t mean that you should not wear the seat belt while driving. Wearing a seat belt is as important as driving a well functioned car.

Asides to that, if you don’t have your car registered, then you should dial the DVLA  phone number  for car registration enquiries. Because, sometimes driving an unregistered car leads you to face unusual consequences and not wearing the seat belt can lead to fatal accidents. Thus, in both the cases you are breaking the law. So, if you have a new car then register and drive your car safely by wearing the seat belt. Take care of your own and your family because ultimately it is your life that is more important than money.

Our thanks to Annie Bonneville, from Manchester, U.K. for this insightful article.  Please also turn your cell phone off until you arrive safely at your destination.  pb

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

SMOKING IS AN UNSAFE HABIT

Because I am a non-smoker, this is not meant to preach to those who are.  I never was interested in even trying it, and was advised by an older friend when I was a young, newly married woman, to not start it, because it is expensive, and a hard habit to break.  My dad smoked and so did my husband.  I worked for years in an office that was full of smoke, because during those times the majority of people did smoke.  Stars in movies smoked, maybe because they thought it made them look more sophisticated.  It was just something I didn’t enjoy being exposed to.  Experts advise that tobacco is addictive; anyone who has stopped smoking will tell you that is true; it is a very hard thing to overcome, as with any addiction. 

Recently, the American Lung Association released a comprehensive State of Tobacco Control 2010 report that offers information regarding policies and programs that have been proven effective in confronting the country’s tobacco epidemic.  It graded the federal government, District of Columbia, and all states on their tobacco control laws and regulations that were in effect as of January 1, 2011.  

It is interesting to see how each state has worked to help smokers quit smoking.  There were only five states – Arkansas, Maine, Montana, Oklahoma and Vermont that got all passing grades.  Oklahoma barely passed with straight D’s.  Most states flunked outright.  The federal government’s top grade of B was for the Food and Drug Administrations’ putting into effect landmark legislation on curbing tobacco marketing and sales to kids, to end misleading cigarette labels and require larger health warnings on smokeless tobacco products.  Many states enacted cigarette taxes for new revenues to balance budgets in hard times, but they did not invest in programs to help smokers quit and keep kids from starting.  Texas got F’s for the amount it spends on anti-smoking campaigns, F for smoke free air, and F for not including cessation programs in Medicaid.  You can check how your state was graded by going to State of Tobacco Control 2010, American Lung Association. 

Each year, 443,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses and secondhand smoke exposure.  Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in America.  It also costs the economy more than $193 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity. 

If you smoke, make your own list of Pros and Cons.  I think you will find it much harder to list more good against the bad that comes from smoking.  In reading the lists of many, the Pros include: bonding with other smokers and momentary gratification.  Cons mentioned were:  after-smell it leaves on clothes, furniture, car, house; breathing problems, cough; heartburn, shortness of breath, wasted time outside in bad weather, and expense. 

People who smoke think that they are being unfairly punished by having to smoke only in areas designated for them; persons who don’t smoke have felt for years that they were exposed to unwanted smoke, so there are probably hard feelings either way about the subject.  It is something to consider, though, especially for those who have small children, who shouldn’t have to breathe smoke in the home or car.  

The bottom line is: what we do with our health is our responsibility.  If a state gets a failing grade for not helping persons cease doing things that are harmful to their health, it’s is not their fault.  It’s our own.  We risk hurting ourselves in many ways, so place the blame where it belongs – on each individual who chooses to ignore the warning signs.  The way for each one of us to get an A is to choose ways of living  that will keep us both safe and healthy.