Accidents

According to one very reliable source, these things happen in America every single day: 

240 people die as a result of medical errors 

144 people die as a result of an accident at home 

130 people die as a result of a traffic accident 

110 people die as a result of accidental poisoning 

62 people die as a result of a fall 

49 people die victims of a homicide 

28 people die victims of a drunk driver 

9 people die as a result of drowning 

Maybe we can learn something from these numbers. They say that doctors bury their mistakes so maybe that is still true? Perhaps people should really watch where they are going to avoid being victims of accidents? People should learn how to swim or wear life jackets always? Don't hang around people who might kill you? Don't put strange stuff in your mouth and maybe, just maybe, you won't poison yourself? Nobody dies as a result of starvation so I guess that's a good thing. 

Flying high

What’s wrong with this picture? “WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday revoked the licenses of the two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles. The pilots — Timothy Cheney of Gig Harbor, Wash., the captain, and Richard Cole of Salem, Ore., the first officer — told safety investigators they were working on their personal laptop computers and lost track of time and place. The pilots, who were out of communications with air traffic controllers for 91 minutes, violated numerous federal safety regulations in the incident last Wednesday night, the FAA said in a statement. The violations included failing to comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances and operating carelessly and recklessly, the agency said.” One can write hundreds of safety regulations but if people won’t follow them, what’s the use? Perhaps even this topless woman can fly a plane, no? She is looking the other way.

Nothing to it

People get paid thousands and thousands of dollars to figure out safety issues and it is money very badly spent - totally wasted. From a news story on the internet today: "WASHINGTON – For the third time in nine months, a major subway or commuter rail crash occurred in a big city. Until last September, rail systems — much like their airline counterparts — were cruising with far fewer accidents than in previous years and decades. That changed in a hurry. In September 2008, a commuter rail train crashed with a freight rail in Los Angeles and 25 people died. The crash was blamed on an engineer on the commuter rail texting on a cell phone. Last month about 50 people were injured in Boston when a trolley rear-ended another trolley. The conductor admitted to texting when the crash took place. On Monday, one subway train rear-ended another in Washington during rush hour above ground. At least six people were killed, the mayor said, including the operator of the trailing train. It's too early to know the cause of this accident, but this third collision has got a top safety expert concerned."

I have said it many times before: there are only two rules to safety: 1. WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING and 2. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE. Please.