November 2011

Monthly Archive

Sat 19 Nov 2011

Inattention Blindness

Posted by Allan under Auto Collisions , Awareness , Distracted Driving , Driver Safety , Employee Safety , Family Safety , Fleet Safety , Safety 24/7
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Has this ever happened to you?  Picture yourself sitting in front of your TV watching your favorite show or maybe a sporting event, and the phone rings.  You pick up the phone and start talking to your good friend while watching the TV.  You talk for about 15 minutes, then hang up and look at the TV and realize the score of the event has changed and you don’t know what happened, or the show has ended and you don’t remember what happened.

If your answer is yes, you have just experience inattention blindness.  Inattention blindness is the brain’s inability to process more than 1 task or function at a time.  You concentrated on your conversation, and you did not really see the TV.  Regardless of what you might think, your brain cannot multitask.  It can switch back and forth between tasks, but when it does you lose focus on the first task.  Where are we going with this?

This is one of the main reasons why distracted driving has become the 2nd leading cause of motor vehicle collisions in the past 5 years.  Cell phone use (hands free or holding a cell phone), eating/drinking, playing a CD or adjusting the radio, grooming, reading a map or anything else that takes your focus off the task of driving is growing as the main cause of motor vehicle incidents.

Vision is the most important sense we use when we drive. Driving distracted narrows our vision by as much as 50%.

There are many collisions that investigators have found the driver never saw the other half of the collision.

In addition to inattention blindness, studies have shown that drivers talking on cell phones (hand free or hand held) have a reduced reaction time.  Similar to those who blood alcohol rate is 0.08.

With reduced vision and reduced reaction time, sooner or later you will experience a motor vehicle collision.

Remember driving is most dangerous thing you do every day of your life.   Think of someone important to you.  Do you think they might want to see you today or you might want to see them.

Drive Safely for you and everyone around you.

 

Sun 6 Nov 2011

Veterans Day

Posted by Allan under Safety
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In November 2009, I published this article.  As the days move closer to Nov. 11, I think it is worth repeating.

As a veteran who proudly served with the 49th TAC Fighter Wing from 1969 - 1973, I submit this article about Veterans Day.  On Nov. 11 we will be honoring ALL the men and women who have served our country.  If you know an active armed force member or a vet (even if you don’t know them), go up to them and say “Thank You.”

In 1947, Raymond Weeks, of Birmingham Ala., organized a “Veterans Day” parade on November 11th to honor all of America’s veterans for their loyal and dedicated service. Shortly thereafter, Congressman Edward H. Rees (Kansas) introduced legislation to change the name of Armistice Day to Veterans Day in order to honor all veterans who have served the United States in all wars.

In 1954, President Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day, and called upon Americans everywhere to rededicate themselves to the cause of peace. He issued a Presidential Order directing the head of the Veterans Administration (now called the Department of Veterans Affairs), to form a Veterans Day National Committee to organize and oversee the national observance of Veterans Day.

Congress passed legislation in 1968 to move Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. However as it became apparent that November 11th was historically significant to many Americans, in 1978, Congress reversed itself and returned the holiday to its traditional date.

Veterans Day National Ceremony

At exactly 11 a.m., each November 11th, a color guard, made up of members from each of the military branches, renders honors to America’s war dead during a heart-moving ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

The President or his representative places a wreath at the Tomb and a bugler sounds Taps. The balance of the ceremony, including a “Parade of Flags” by numerous veterans service organizations, takes place inside the Memorial Amphitheater, adjacent to the Tomb.

In addition to planning and coordinating the National Veterans Day Ceremony, the Veterans Day National Committee supports a number of Veterans Day Regional Sites. These sites conduct Veterans Day celebrations that provide excellent examples for other communities to follow.

Veterans Day Observance

Veterans Day is always observed on November 11, regardless of the day of the week on which it falls. The Veterans Day National Ceremony is always held on Veterans Day itself, even if the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday. However, like all other federal holidays, when it falls on a non-workday — Saturday or Sunday — the federal government employees take the day off on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).

Federal government holiday observance (for federal employees, including military) is established by federal law. 5 U.S.C. 6103 establishes the following public holidays for Federal employees: New Year’s Day, Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Washington’s Birthday (President’s Day), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

This federal law does not apply to state and local governments. They are free to determine local government closings (including school closings) locally. As such, there is no legal requirement that schools close of Veterans Day, and many do not. However, most schools hold Veterans Day activities on Veterans Day and throughout the week of the holiday to honor American veterans.

Veterans Day Around the World

Many other countries honor their veterans on November 11th of each year. However, the name of the holiday and the types of ceremonies differ from the Veterans Day activities in the United States.

Canada, Australia, and Great Britain refer to their holidays as “Remembrance Day.” Canada and Australia observe the day on November 11, and Great Britain conducts their ceremonies on the Sunday nearest to November 11th.

In Canada, the observance of “Remembrance Day” is actually quite similar to the United States, in that the day is set aside to honor all of Canada’s veterans, both living and dead. One notable difference is that many Canadians wear a red poppy flower on November 11 to honor their war dead, while the “red poppy” tradition is observed in the United States on Memorial Day.

In Australia, “Remembrance Day” is very much like America’s Memorial Day, in that its considered a day to honor Australian veterans who died in war.

In Great Britain, the day is commemorated by church services and parades of ex-service members in Whitehall, a wide ceremonial avenue leading from London’s Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square. Wreaths of poppies are left at the Cenotaph, a war memorial in Whitehall, which was built after the First World War. At the Cenotaph and elsewhere in the country, a two-minute silence is observed at 11 a.m., to honor those who lost their lives in wars.

Have You Hugged Your Veteran Today?

One of the most personal and meaningful Veterans Day activities for people is to send notes or cards to hospitalized veterans or those living in veterans homes. Or, better yet, visit a veteran in a local veterans hospital or veteran home. The best way to have a “happy Veterans Day” is to do something special to make a veteran happy.

 

Sat 5 Nov 2011

New Workplace Violence Standard

Posted by Allan under ANSI , Employee Safety , SHRM , Safety , Workplace Safety , Workplace Violence
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Violence in the workplace represents one of the most challenging security and personnel safety problems that organizations can face today. To help companies and organizations respond to and become better prepared for such challenges, two American National Standards Institute (ANSI) members and accredited standards developers, ASIS International and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), have joined forces to release an American National Standard (ANS) aimed at preventing violence in the workplace.

The standard establishes policies, processes, and protocols that organizations can adopt to identify and prevent threatening behavior and violence affecting the workplace, and to better address and resolve threats and violence that have occurred. The standard also describes the implementation of a workplace violence prevention and intervention program, as well as protocols for effective incident management and resolution. The standard‘s recommendations are broad in order to provide organizations the flexibility needed to implement prevention and intervention strategies appropriate for their workplace.