June is National Safety Month

6/1/2011

Did you Know?
23% of all car crashes involve cell phone use*!

Did you know that June is National Safety Month?  With children and teenagers being off from school and having more time to be “children and teenagers” being safe and preventing accidents should be at the top of our summer to-do list.  

Preventative measures can help lower the risk of accidents.  The following tips are just a few of the ways to help prevent accidents while children and teenagers are doing two of the things that seem to cause some of the most common accidents – being around pools/water parks and driving.

Children at Waterparks
Most kids love going to water parks during the summer.  Water parks can be a lot of fun, but they can also be the scene of accidents if you don’t take some simple precautions.  Follow these tips to help your child be as safe as possible when visiting one of the many great water parks throughout our state.
  1. Make sure the water park has plenty of certified lifeguards.
  2. While many water parks have life vests available, you should also bring your own life vest.
  3. Understand all the rules, especially as it relates to using water slides.
  4. Remove all jewelry before entering the waterpark, as jewelry can get caught in equipment.
Teenage Drivers
If you have a teenage driver at home, the following 5-tips should help reduce your teen’s risk of getting into an accident:
  1.  Set a Nighttime Driving Restriction:  Even for experienced drivers, the chances of being in a crash are about three times greater at night than in daylight hours.
  2. Set a Passenger Restriction:  According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, one passenger increases a teen’s crash risk by 48%.
  3. Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving: The National Safety Council estimates indicate 23% of all crashes involve cell phone use.
  4. Prohibit Alcohol Use: Drinking and driving remains a problem among teens.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly one-third of drivers’ age 15 to 20 who were killed in crashes had been drinking.
  5. Make Safety Belts Mandatory:  Safety belts are the most effective safety device in vehicles. NHTSA data shows wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of crash injuries by approximately 50%.
Did you know that even if you do not have a teenage driver at home teenage drivers can be of concern to you as well?  According to the NHTA, 2 out of 3 people killed in crashes involving teenage drivers are people other than the teen drivers, including passengers of teen drivers, occupants in other vehicles, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.   So, while we can do our best to help prevent accidents, they can still happen to even the most cautious individuals.  

While you can’t prevent all accidents from happening, you can plan a head and purchase one of the many different types of Accident Insurance Plans CSEA offers.  Did you know that CSEA offers various Accident Plans to members of our affiliates and Special Member groups?  To learn more about the plans available visit our Insurance page.

*According to National Safety Council estimates.